Met Office issues severe weather warning for flooding and travel chaos as parts of UK brace for a month’s rainfall in less than six hours today
- Yellow warning issued for rain has been issued across Cornwall and south Wales this afternoon and tomorrow
- Met Office is warning people to take care with flood warnings in place as heavy rainfall expected over 6 hours
- Weekend could see sunshine with spells of rain or showers, which could be thundery across some areas
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Britons are bracing themselves for travel chaos and flooding with a month’s worth of rain expected over the course of just six hours.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain from this afternoon and into tomorrow, across south west England and south-west Wales.
Forecasters warn up to 70mm (2.75 ins) of rain could fall in six hours later today, with motorists urged to take care on the roads across Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth and Wales.
Members of the public shelter from the rain under umbrellas in Kensington Gardens today
Two people cover under their clothes to protect from a rain shower as they row a boat on the river Thames at Windsor
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain from this afternoon and into tomorrow
Forecasters warn up to 70mm (2.75 ins) of rain could fall in six hours later today, with motorists urged to take care on the roads across Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth and Wales
Tomorrow paints a similarly bleak picture, with thundery downpours expected before the weather warms up for the weekend.
The deluge comes just days after the country basked in hot weather, with a record-breaking 266 hours of sunshine in May.
Forecasters say conditions will turn warmer for the weekend, with temperatures potentially reaching 24C (75F) in parts of southern England on Saturday and 23C (73F) elsewhere, though the risk of showers remains.
The Met Office said: ‘Heavy rain may cause flooding and travel disruption. There’s a small chance of fast-growing or deep floodwater and some communities could be cut off by flooded roads.
‘There’s a small chance homes or businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some properties.
’20-30mm (0.75 – 1.25 ins) is expected quite widely but in places between 50 and 70mm (2-2.75ins) could fall, the bulk of this within six hours.’
People shielded themselves with umbrellas and face masks in west London this afternoon
This chap was ready for all weathers as he waited for a bus near Kensington Gardens in west London
People grabbed a brolly as they embraced the rain while strolling through Kensington Gardens
Tomorrow paints a similarly bleak picture, with thundery downpours expected before the weather warms up for the weekend.
From Sunday and into next week, conditions should become more settled, according to the Met Office.
Forecasters say it will be dry on Sunday for many with sunny spells after any patchy fog clears, though the north-east may see some rain or drizzle with scattered, perhaps heavy, showers in the west and southwest.
Northwestern areas will likely see the best of any drier and sunnier conditions while temperatures will be warm or very warm at times.