UK weather: Met Office issues 10 new warnings as heavy rain to batter Britain

Heavy rain is set to batter large parts of the country on Thursday, with the Met Office issuing 10 new weather warnings.

Parts of southern, central and northern England, as well as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to experience downpours after days of ice and snow caused disruption, school closures and power cuts. A major incident was declared in Cumbria last week as hundreds were left without electricity after heavy snow.

Temperatures have eased slightly after days of sub-zero weather, giving way to more than 100 flood warnings and alerts across the UK.

With more rain expected on Thursday, the Met Office says roads could be flooded, with further power cuts and travel delays expected. In southern England, areas including Portsmouth and Salisbury, and central England including Birmingham, are warned that flooding of homes and businesses is likely.

The Environment Agency currently has 24 flood warnings and 114 flood alerts in place, as of Wednesday.

A meteorologist at the Met Office said there would be a wet and damp start to the day on Thursday morning, with rain turning “heavier and more persistent as the day goes on”.

Wind is expected to pick up in the later afternoon, particularly with coastal gales for part of western Scotland.

Milder air will be restricted to western parts of the country with temperatures of 11 and 12C while the rest of the country is expected to face much cooler temperatures of around 5C along with spells of heavy rain.

Rain is expected to build up over western and southern hills across the country with parts of south Wales, northern Ireland, south east and eastern Scotland affected.

It is expected to fall over hills and saturated ground which “could cause some issues’” according to a Met Office meterologist.

The Environment Agency said: “Local flooding is possible from rivers and surface water later today across most parts of England, but not in London or the East of England.

“Local flooding is possible from rivers and surface water on Thursday in the South West with river flooding continuing into Friday. Properties may flood and there may be travel disruption.

“Local flooding is probable from rivers and surface water in parts of Cumbria, the Midlands and the South East on Thursday with flooding from rivers possible into Friday in all these areas and into Saturday through the Midlands. Further local flooding is possible quite widely across parts of England through the weekend due to further rain.

“Land, roads and some properties could flood and there could be travel disruption.”