UK weather: Britain braces for another wet weekend as Met Office issues more warnings

'Storm Dennis has long gone, but the legacy of high water levels and saturated catchments remain'

Vincent Wood
Thursday 20 February 2020 23:27 GMT
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Flood water continues to surround Worcester city centre, in the aftermath of Storm Dennis
Flood water continues to surround Worcester city centre, in the aftermath of Storm Dennis

Britain is set for another weekend of rain and high winds as the Met Office issues weather warnings for much of Scotland and Northern Ireland following a string of flood alerts.

Friday is set to begin with a damp and cloudy start to the day across much of Scotland and Northern Ireland, with rain spreading into north Wales and northern England during the afternoon.

The worst of the wet weather is expected north of the border, with the Met Office issuing yellow weather warnings for much of the day across the west of Scotland.

Meanwhile, patches of the north and northeast of England including York and Newcastle are at risk of disruptive winds and rain. The west of Northern Ireland is also subject to the warnings.

Elsewhere, some early bright spells are possible in the south, however, the sky is expected to turn largely dull and cloudy later on.

And as the evening sets in northern England, Wales and Scotland can expect cloudy damp weather with southern and central parts of England dry for a time with some clear spells – albeit with some rain or drizzle expected overnight.

The dreary day is expected to give way to a mixed but ultimately damp weekend – with wind prompting a renewed yellow weather warning for the entirety of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The south will experience a largely cloudy Saturday with hints of lingering rain that will turn increasingly light and patchy. Meanwhile further north will experience a brighter day with its own helping of scattered showers.

And on Sunday, cloud and heavy rain in the morning will clear to leave a largely fine day with sunny spells and just a few showers in the west.

It comes after heavy rains caused flooding particularly in south Wales, with five severe flood warnings in place in the region.

In total across England and Wales, 82 flood warnings were in place on Thursday night, while 147 flood alerts were instituted.

In Scotland, eight flood warnings and 11 flood alerts remained in place.

The Met Office said that river levels could rise again in southwest and northern England over the next few days where the ground is already full of water.

“Storm Dennis has long gone, but the legacy of high water levels and saturated catchments remain,” said Steve Willington, a Met Office chief forecaster.

Conditions are expected to be less severe towards the end of the week compared to the recent bad weather, but Mr Willington added that “any additional rainfall could create further challenges”.

“Flooding, especially in areas already heavily affected, remains a possibility,” he said.

Additional reporting by PA

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