Heavy downpours to sweep UK as new weather maps show incoming wall of rain

20 February 2024, 12:46

Fresh weather maps have shown when and where a wall of rain is set to hit the UK.

A band of rain will sweep the UK on Tuesday, beginning in the north before heading south into England and Wales.

Tuesday morning saw Scotland and Northern Ireland face heavy downpours before the wall moved across the rest of the country.

Only parts of the southeast of England are set to escape the wet weather.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for rain in the southwest heading into Wednesday, with flooding and travel disruption expected.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Environment Agency had issued 17 flood warnings and 135 alerts.

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Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: "As we go through Tuesday morning, a fairly wet picture across parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland as this front makes its way southeastwards.

"As we go into the afternoon, that front is going to push into parts of England and Wales.

"All the time though, across the southeast of the UK it should be a mostly dry day, at least during daylight hours, with the rain not arriving until the evening and overnight.

"Behind that front we are going to see something a bit clearer, some sunnier skies, but also a scattering of showers across Scotland. Some of these could turn heavy, perhaps even thundery."

The forecast for Wednesday reads: "Heavy rain will spread across Wales and southwest England from early on Wednesday morning.

"Rainfall amounts will widely reach 15-25 mm, with as much as 50-70 mm over higher ground.

"With saturated ground in places, this is likely to lead to some disruption. Rain will clear to the east by the afternoon. "