Wet weather warnings issued as rain returns, bringing risk of flooding and travel chaos
12 December 2023, 06:05
The Met Office has issued wet weather warnings for parts of the UK, with travel disruption and flooding possible amid heavy rain over the next few days.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
A warning for southeast Scotland and northeast England comes into force at 9am on Tuesday and lasts until 8am on Wednesday.
The forecaster's yellow weather warning for rain in southwest Scotland lasts until 10am on Tuesday.
Separately, the whole of Northern Ireland was issued a warning until 7am on Tuesday.
The areas in question could see delays and cancellations of train and bus services. Power cuts and flooding of homes and businesses is also likely.
Some 42 flood warnings - meaning flooding is probable - are in place across England, according to the Environment Agency, with 157 less severe flood alerts.
Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said: "After a pretty nice start to the week, things will turn much more unsettled across the UK for Tuesday.
"Rain pushes up into northeastern areas throughout (Tuesday) morning and then it will linger across northeastern parts of England as well as southeastern Scotland. There's been a lot of rainfall here recently, so the ground is well saturated.
"Behind that, plenty of showers are developing.
"These will push into parts of the Midlands by the middle part of the day and without much of a breeze they could be quite long-lasting showers. They bring a risk of hail and thunder as well.
"So a bit of an unsettled, unpleasant day for many, particularly if you get caught in those showers."
And the weather could get even more wintry, as the Met Office has issued a snow and ice warning for the Christmas period.
The Met Office's latest long-range forecast, which runs from Christmas Day to January, says the weather is likely to be more "unsettled" in this period.
"The wettest and windiest conditions are most likely in the west and northwest. The chance of a colder spell of weather, with hazards such as snow and ice, does increase later in December and into the New Year period," the forecast reads.
While there is certainly a chance this could happen, the Met Office said conditions are more likely to remain "mild and wet"
