UK weather: Flooding ‘likely’ as wind and rain warnings issued for parts of England and Scotland

Gusts could hit 70mph in some areas

Warnings of flooding, travel delays and power outages have been issued for parts of England and Scotland over the weekend, with the Met Office predicting the possibility of more adverse conditions going on into next week.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for the east and south of England and the northeast of Scotland, over Aberdeenshire, Orkney and Shetland.

Wind speeds are expected to reach as high as 70mph in some parts, combined with downpours of around 30-40mm of rain.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “60-70mph gusts would be enough to cause some problems, delays to transport, some short loss of power [is] possible, [and there] could be some spray on the coasts.

“Certainly for northeast Scotland the winds are stronger, [and] there is more chance there of some branches coming off trees. If people have things out in the garden then bits will be blown around, but not quite enough to cause real structural damage.

“In northeast Scotland and the southeast, flooding of some homes and buildings is possible. Strong winds and heavy rain are forecast for some coastal areas on Saturday, affecting East Anglia, Essex, Kent, and the south coast over the Isle of Wight and as far west as Lyme Regis, from 1pm until 10pm. Gusts are predicted to reach 52mph on the Isle of Wight, 43mph in Norwich and 56mph in Ramsgate.”

The Met Office is warning of some delays to road, rail, air and ferry services, delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges, power outages, and high waves in coastal areas.

Meanwhile, heavy downpours are forecast over Orkney and Shetland from 4pm Saturday until 6am on Sunday, bringing some localised flooding and disruption to transport services.

Strong winds are expected over north Aberdeenshire and up to Orkney and Shetland from midnight on Saturday to 3pm on Sunday.

The Met Office is warning some flooding to businesses and homes is “likely”, along with transport delays and possible short-term loss of power and other services.

It is also likely that some exposed routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray and large waves.

The spokesperson added: “Certainly for England and Wales, Monday night and Tuesday morning there could bring another spell of wet and windy weather.”