Met Office yellow weather warnings for wind and rain as wet start to August bank holiday weekend continues
It’s a wet start to the August bank holiday with more rainy and windy conditions to come.
Up to 70mm of rain could fall today, prompting a warning to drivers in the bank holiday getaway. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for much of the south east of England as downpours batter much of the country.
The warning, which came into force at 6am and lasts until 1pm, stretches from Portsmouth, Hampshire, up to Ipswich in Suffolk, comes after widespread travel disruption caused by Storm Lilian on Friday.
The conditions meant some problematic journeys for an estimated 19.2 million leisure trips by car being made over the weekend, according to the RAC, the highest since the company began recording data for the summer bank holiday, in 2015.
Liam Eslick, a meteorologist at the Met Office, told the PA news agency: “With that yellow warning, expect some small travel disruption. I know it’s the start of the bank holiday so people may be out and about trying to get to their holiday destinations.
“We do say take care when driving on roads, stick to the main roads where you can because more local tracks could see some surface water. So do take care when travelling around through Saturday morning.”
The heaviest of the rain is expected to move away around mid-afternoon, but showers will linger around central and south east England, as well as western Scotland.
Elsewhere, a wind warning was in place across northern England and North Wales until 11am on Friday, with Storm Lilian bringing widespread travel disruption including delayed and cancelled flights, as well as delaying proceedings at the Leeds Festival, which saw stages closed and the arena opening delayed.
“Winds aren’t expected to be too much of an issue on Saturday though,” said Mr Eslick. “It’s mainly going to be the rain. “Winds will be pretty light in the south of England, though you may get the odd gust around the very far South East through the English Channel. But [the] mainland is going to be pretty light.”
On Sunday, conditions are expected to ease, with some showers forecast in the east, northern England and southern Scotland. However, winds will pick up once again and it will be blustery for much of the UK, though not as strongly as on Friday, the Met Office said.
For Bank Holiday Monday, Mr Eslick said: “Monday looks like the best of the days. There will be more in the way of some sunshine and winds are expected to ease. It will be a lot calmer coming into the Bank Holiday Monday and it will be nice to have that extra day this weekend to enjoy.”