Met Office issues fresh weather warnings as nearly 150 areas on flood alert
Almost 150 flood alerts have been issued across the country, with the Met Office issuing new weather warnings for heavy rain and wind after Storm Ingrid affected parts of the UK.
Parts of a historic pier washed into the sea in Devon early on Saturday and the seawall protecting a railway line at Dawlish collapsed as huge waves and heavy rain battered the coastline.
Now the forecaster has issued yellow warnings for south-west, south and central Wales on Monday, warning of more changeable weather to come on Tuesday, spreading to the south of England.
The forecaster warned that homes and businesses could be flooded, some communities could experience power outages, and power outages were possible.
The Environment Agency issued 113 flood warnings across England on Sunday stating that flooding was possible, and 20 flood warnings where flooding was expected. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued seven flood warnings and three flood warnings, while Natural Resources Wales also has two warnings.
Heavy rain is expected to cause some disruption to transport in south-west England, south and mid-Wales and parts of south-east England. A yellow rain warning is in effect throughout the region from 15:00 on Monday until noon on Tuesday.
Up to 30 mm of precipitation is widely expected; 50-80 mm of rainfall is expected, especially in higher places such as Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons). Due to the rainy conditions before this period, rain will fall on saturated ground and flood effects will increase in some places. Strong winds are also expected to come from the southeast.
There is a further yellow rain warning across Northern Ireland for County Armagh, County Down, County Fermanagh, County Londonderry and County Tyrone between 12pm and 6pm on Monday. Heavy rain will move northeastward across the region Monday afternoon. Rain is expected to fall generally up to 20 mm, 20-30 mm in a few areas and up to 40 mm in higher places.
This will become a rain and wind warning from 2am to 10pm on Tuesday; because the rain will be accompanied by strong easterly and southeast winds, especially in the northern and eastern regions, which can reach speeds of 40-50 mph in inland areas and potentially 60-70 mph on some open coasts.
The south-east of England will also experience showers from midnight to noon on Tuesday, with 15-25mm of rain expected across the region. A few areas will potentially see 30-40 mm of rainfall, with some hills seeing up to 50 mm.
Wet weather continues after Storm Ingrid, named by the Portuguese Meteorological Service, brought winds of 45 to 50 miles per hour and wet weather causing structural damage across large coastal areas of England on Friday night.
On the Yorkshire coast of Tunstall, a decommissioned nuclear bunker crashed onto the beach as the cliff eroded; Waves crashed onto the beach on England’s south-west coast, causing part of the historic Teignmouth Grand Pier to collapse into the sea in Devon overnight. On Saturday morning the Teignmouth National Coastwatch said they had “never seen it this rough before” despite it being an hour ahead of low tide.
Meanwhile, Dawlish resident Peter Large told the BBC that part of the sea wall protecting the railway line at Dawlish had “just collapsed” after a “very dramatic” night.
“The wall no longer exists at both ends,” he said. “I’m looking down now and there’s a strip about 80 to 90 ft long where the wall has collapsed. The waves are still hitting the railway line and the wall.”
Meteorology’s 5-day weather forecast:
Today and tonight:
Cloudy, showers and showers for many. Some areas in north-east Scotland are expected to see more snow on the hills. A few bright breaks develop from time to time in the south. In most places, winds are lighter than on Saturday.
Very cloudy, showers in places, generally lightening rain. It mostly snows in the northeast, while fog and fog patches develop in the cloud gaps in the southeast.
Monday:
Generally cloudy, there will be rain in the north-east of England and east of Scotland, winter prevails in the hills. Heavy rain and strong wind coming from the west and spreading towards the east.
Outlook from Tuesday to Thursday:
Rain, showers and possible peak snow remain generally unsettled as it moves across the country with strong winds, especially on Tuesday when another area of deep low pressure arrives. I feel cold.
