England and Wales brace for downpours with more than 200 active flood alerts | UK weather

More than 200 flood alerts were active across England on Sunday as parts of England and Wales braced for further downpours after the Met Office issued a new yellow rain warning.

The warning extends from midday to midnight on Monday and covers south Wales as well as the southeast and southwest of England. The Met Office said “10-15mm of rain is likely to be quite widespread, with 20-30mm in some places exposed to strong south-south-east winds.”

Monday’s weather warning covers parts of England where communities are still recovering from massive flooding caused by heavy downpours in the wake of Storm Chandra.

The Environment Agency issued 96 flood warnings on Sunday evening, saying flooding was expected across England. 219 more flood warnings were issued in areas with flood risk. Four more flood warnings have been issued by Natural Resources Wales.

The Met Office stated that homes, businesses and roads may be flooded in areas covered by Monday’s rain warning, adding that disruption to travel is expected.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said temperatures were expected to reach double digits in the Midlands, east of England and south-east parts, so “February could be a relatively good month”.

He added: “There’s another area of ​​rain to the west here with winds strengthening throughout the afternoon, particularly in the south-west. The winds are coming from a south-easterly direction, so they’re coming towards coasts that have been particularly affected by the recent storms. There will be some heavy rain and it will fall on saturated ground so further flooding is possible, especially as we move into the evening.”

Morgan said there “may be some surface water on the roads and some difficult driving conditions during rush hour on Monday evening” across parts of Wales, central south England and the south-east.

The Environment Agency estimated on Saturday that “at least 300 properties were flooded”, while around 16,200 properties were protected by flood defences.

Sarah Cook, flood duty manager at the agency, said: “Ongoing significant groundwater flooding impacts remain possible in parts of Dorset and Wiltshire, with minor impacts likely in parts of Hampshire over the next five days and in West Sussex from Saturday.”

The agency said its teams were “mobilized across the country to control other flooding, clear river blockages and closely monitor river levels.”