UK weather: yellow weather warning for heavy rain in force as Met Office issues flooding and travel alert

A yellow weather warning for heavy rain is in force in the UK today as the “extreme” cold snap subsides amid rising temperatures.

The Met Office has warned that heavy rain in parts of England and Wales on Monday (19 December) could lead to flooding of roads, homes and businesses, potentially causing travel disruption.

It comes after -17.3C was recorded in Braemar in Scotland last week, the coldest temperature since 11 February 2021, while other places around the country experienced lows of -10C to -15C in recent days.

Elsewhere, a major incident was declared in Shetland after more than 5,000 homes lost power on Monday afternoon as heavy snow brought down lines, but all properties were reconnected as of Sunday, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said.

Yellow weather alerts for rain are now in force across southern parts of England and south Wales from 6pm on Sunday to 6am on Tuesday (20 December).

The Environment Agency has warned of possible flooding in 15 areas, mostly near rivers in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, as well as the River Maun in Nottinghamshire. The agency is urging residents to be prepared – with the worst expected on Sunday and into Monday.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “It’s also worth bearing in mind that, preceding this obviously it was so cold, so the grounds were a bit frozen, drains may have been frozen in places”.

“As a result their ability to cope with the rainfall may have been reduced, so that’s why we could see some greater impacts which is why the warning was issued.” He added: “The drastic change to something milder is going to be pretty widespread, perhaps south-west England, maybe even north Wales could get 14/15C, elsewhere though widely temperatures are going to be in the 12C to 13C bracket on Monday.”

But Mr Burkill said northern Scotland could see temperatures in the single figures on Monday. He explained: “Monday night into Tuesday, for most it’s going to be a lot milder than it has been of late but we could still see a touch of frost particularly in parts of Scotland. And then Tuesday, I think it’s going to be a little bit colder again compared to Monday. So the really mild day, Monday, is a flash in the pan if you will.

“I think we’re still looking at highs of 12C perhaps 13C towards the south coast but away from that as you head to more central parts and further north we’re going to be in mid to high single figures at best, so quite a drop compared to Monday.

“The cold period lasted so long and was so extreme, that’s come to an end. But I think it’s fair to say the really mild weather we’ve got through tonight and into tomorrow is going to be very short-lived.

“Things have gone from well below average, tomorrow they go to quite a bit above average and then they return closer to average as we go through tomorrow night onwards.”

He added: “What I’m expecting in the run up to and through Christmas weekend itself is for southern parts to have temperatures near normal, northern parts to be a little bit colder and there will also be some changeable weather coming through so with that you could quite easily get some wintry weather as we go towards Christmas, mainly towards the north.”