Met Office update: new yellow weather warnings issued as rain set to continue with warnings over travel

Areas across England and Wales have already been hit with heavy rain this week, with some roads and rail travel impacted by flooding. The bad weather looks set to continue in parts of north-east England and the Midlands.

A new yellow rain warning has been issued covering this area from midnight tonight for 24 full hours. The Met Office has warned that the heavy downpours could lead to flooding in some areas, and travel disruption.

The Met Office said: “A period of heavy and persistent rain is expected to affect parts of northern England and north Midlands during much of Thursday. The heaviest rainfall is likely to be across the Pennines and North York Moors where 80-100 mm of rainfall could accumulate during the course of the day.

“Elsewhere, totals are likely to be lower, reaching 20-30 mm widely but with a risk of 50-70 mm in some locations. Strong winds may also affect coastal locations and routes over high ground.”

A separate yellow weather warning for rain covers all of southern England and part of South Wales. This warning is currently in place from 5pm on Thursday evening (September 26) until 10am on Friday morning (September 27). The warning read: “Whilst some areas will miss the worst, areas of heavy, showery rain are expected to become widespread across a swathe of England and Wales during Thursday evening and on into Friday morning. There is some uncertainty in the details, but some locations may see up 20-30 mm of rain in 2-3 hours and perhaps 40-60 mm in 4-6 hours.

“Lightning and strong, gusty winds may be additional hazards, especially in southwest coastal areas. Given the recent very wet weather, this will bring the potential for further flooding and transport disruption.”

It comes after areas were flooded out in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Luton and around London among other places. More than 40 people were evacuated from a holiday park in Northamptonshire amid rising water.

The A421 in Bedfordshire also remains closed after rising flood waters rendered the road unusable. National Highways said in an update: “Following spells of torrential rain flooding occurred at Marston Moretaine on the evening of Sunday 22 September with water levels of up eight feet recorded. This has severely impacted efforts to clear floodwater from the carriageway.

“National Highways service providers continue to work at scene and at present a number of articulated tankers and pumping equipment are in use as efforts to clear the road continue. At this time it is expected the the A421 will remain closed today; at this stage we cannot provide a timeline for the road to reopen. Three vehicles that have been abandoned in the flooded section will also need to be recovered before the carriageway can be fully re-opened.”