Heavy rain deluges UK with warnings in place and more flooding expected
30 October 2021, 22:38 | Updated: 30 October 2021, 22:58
Parts of the UK have been hit with almost a month's worth of rain in 48 hours, with more downpours expected over the weekend.
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Yellow weather warnings for rain remain in several parts of the country, including Glasgow, where the global COP26 climate summit is due to begin on Sunday.
The Environment Agency said on Saturday morning there were eight flood warnings, meaning that flooding is expected, and 51 flood alerts, meaning that flooding remains likely.
In Dartmoor, Devon, parts of the area received 125 millimetres of rain in 48 hours - compared with an October average of 130 millimetres.
If you're travelling on #SundayMorning, expect some tricky driving conditions⚠️#Halloween starts very wet and #windy for many, with gales on some coasts. A band of heavy #rain moves north and east across the country with sunshine and blustery showers to follow🌦️ #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/WDklkoCKZL
— Met Office (@metoffice) October 30, 2021
It comes after a week of wet weather which saw disruption and destruction in northern areas including Cumbria and southern Scotland.
Honister Pass in Cumbria saw 110 millimetres in 48 hours, but had received "two months of rain in the past week", the Met Office said, resulting in the flooding of 40 properties.
Flooding in Keswick, Lake District
Train companies across the UK warned of disruption to services due to the conditions and travellers in Windermere and Carlisle were delayed by flooded railways.
Annie Shuttleworth, forecaster for the Met Office, said that after gradually brightening weather on Saturday, "torrential rain" showers would briefly return overnight.
"It's been a wet start for many of us with a band of heavy rain moving eastwards through the country... bringing fairly heavy downpours," she said.
Read more: Bridges wash away as downpours lash Scotland and weather alerts remain for days
Read more: 'Danger to life' flood warning after a month's worth of rain falls in 24 hours
"This evening we're going to see a similar band... (and) we're expecting localised flooding and there will be some travel disruptions and the rain will most likely last a bit longer into Sunday.
"The weather we're experiencing is fairly typical for autumn although we're seeing fairly regular heavy downpours... there's not been a lot of respite between the rain."
Ms Shuttleworth added that despite a week of above average temperatures for October, conditions would drop into the low single digits in the coming days.
