UK weather forecast: Possible ‘danger to life’ as Britain faces torrential rain and flash flooding

‘It’s certainly the sort of situation where you could see some damage to homes and businesses,’ says Met Office

Fast-flowing or deep floodwater could pose "a danger to life" on Friday and Saturday as torrential rain batters much of Wales and northern England this weekend, the Met Office has warned.

Homes could also be hit with power cuts, forecasters said as a weather warning was put in place from 12pm on Friday until midnight on Saturday, covering most of Wales, plus a swathe of northwest England stretching from Leeds to Carlisle.

On high ground and particularly on western slopes, up to 10cm of rain could fall, with between 4cm and 6cm throughout the warning areas, the Met Office said.

“That obviously is a significant amount of rainfall," spokesman Grahame Madge told The Independent. "Part of the problem is that you’ve got the clouds aligned with the flow [of the weather system]. Rain is expected to continue for around 24 hours.”

He added: “It’s impacts like sudden flash flooding, or where you get perhaps water courses overflowing. It’s certainly the sort of situation where you could see some damage to homes and businesses.”

The recent wet spell means that some areas of ground may already hold a large amount of water, causing new rainfall to run off, Mr Madge said.

Autumn leaves blocking drainage channels could allow more water to collect.

“There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life," the Met Office said on it's website. "Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures [and] there is a slight chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses.”

Flooding could cause disruption for bus and train passengers, while businesses and homes may be flooded, it added.

Mr Madge said that for the rest of the UK, “there’s a pulse of rain extending more or less diagonally across the country, with the wettest conditions ... likely to be in the warning areas.”

He added: “Parts of Northern Ireland and particularly parts of Scotland should not see those levels [of rain]. By late on Saturday that system will have cleared out.” Sunday is expected to be largely dry across the country, if somewhat colder, he said.