Flood warnings across UK as rivers expected to overflow amid heavy rain - areas affected

Flood warnings have been issued in 27 areas of the UK as further downpours loom, with several rivers expected to overflow.

Some areas are at risk of flooding on Sunday overnight into Monday morning, with the government advising the public to avoid low lying roads near rivers and put a flood plan into action.

Flooding is expected at Hunsworth Beck at Oakenshaw, Pimlico Brook at Clitheroe, along Warwick Drive and Dorset Drive and River Cole at Coleshill.

Flood alerts have been issued at the following 27 locations across the UK:

• Bottle Brook in Derbyshire
• Ings Beck and Oakenshaw Beck
• Loughborough urban watercourses and local tributaries to the River Soar
• Lower River Irwell catchment including areas in Greater Manchester
• Lower River Mersey including Warrington, Runcorn and Lymm areas
• Middle River Mersey catchment including areas near Bramhall, Stockport, Sale, Altrincham and Urmston
• Middlesbrough Becks
• River Blythe in Warwickshire
• River Bollin catchment, including Knutsford, Wilmslow, Macclesfield and Bollington
• River Cole
• River Dane catchment including Kidsgrove, Sandbach, Congleton, Middlewich and Northeast Crewe
• River Ditton catchment including areas around Huyton-with-Roby and Widnes
• River Erewash Tributaries in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
• River Glaze catchment including Leigh and East Wigan
• River Gowy catchment including areas around Frodsham
• River Mersey Uplands catchment including Hyde, Ashton-under-Lyne, Denton, Stalybridge and Glossop
• River Rea
• River Sankey catchment with St Helens and Warrington
• River Spen and Batley Beck catchments
• River Stour and Smestow Brook in the Black Country and South Staffordshire
• Tributaries in North Derbyshire
• Tributaries in South Derbyshire
• Upper River Irwell catchment with Oldham, Bolton, Rochdale, Haslingden, Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall
• Upper Tame
• Upper Tame at Sandwell Valley
• Weaver catchment including Nantwich, Frodsham, Crewe, Winsford and Northwich
• Wirral catchment with Heswall, Ellesmere Port, Bebington, Hoylake and Wallasey

The flood alerts come after half a month’s rain fell in an hour in one location over the weekend.

The Met Office said 35.6mm of rain fell in Woodhouse Mill, near Sheffield, between 6pm and 7pm on Sunday (18 June).  In June, the entire UK averages around 12 days of rain - 77mm.

Most of the country was covered by rain or thunderstorms until the end of Sunday. Marco Petagna, a Met Office forecaster, told the PA news agency: “Half a month’s of rain has fallen in one hour in one location, in quite a few spots we’re seeing 15-20mm, even 30mm in an hour. There’s been quite a few storms embedded within that area of northern England, Northern Ireland and one or two in parts of Wales.

“It’s pretty torrential, 25 to 35mm in an hour is certainly going to cause some flooding problems, and there’s still potentially bad conditions to come.”

Meanwhile, a yellow alert for heavy rain is in place in northern England and Scotland from 7pm on Sunday (18 June) until midday on Monday (19 June).

The Met Office said that by Monday the heavy rain in Scotland will begin to slowly clear northwards and sunshine and showers will be on the cards for most.

There will be a risk of thundery conditions while temperatures remain warm with highs of 25C forecast in the northeast of England, while heading into Monday evening, heavy rain will develop across southwest England and Wales.

On Tuesday (20 June) rain will move north-eastwards across England and Wales to reach Scotland with heavy and thundery bursts possible. For the rest of the UK it will be a “day of warm sunshine and showers”, the Met Office said.