UK weather: Flood alerts across Britain as Met Office predicts wet winter

Fifteen separate flood alerts are in force across England and Scotland as the Met Office predicts a wet winter for Britain.

Residents have been told to be on the lookout for flooding as far north as Aberdeen in Scotland and as far south as the River Clyst near Exeter.

A statement posted on the Met Office’s blog said that while this winter was unlikely to break rainfall records, there was “increased risk” of wetter weather for next few months compared to past years.

Wales and the North West of England are the only regions of Great Britain to be without flood warnings.

“Recent outlooks have been signalling increased risk of milder and wetter conditions for the past couple of months, and indeed that’s what we have seen through October and the start of November,” a Met Office spokesperson wrote on the agency’s official blog.

The warning of a wet winter is based on the forecaster’s long-term predictions.

Reports of a “record-breaking” wet winter were a “misunderstanding”, the spokesperson however said.

“After a recent slew of stories claiming we’re in for the coldest winter on record (which weren't based on information from the Met Office), there are now stories claiming we’re forecasting the wettest winter in 30 years,” the spokesperson said.

“That’s not the case and appears to be a misunderstanding of our three-month outlook for contingency planners.”