Weekend washout: Heavy showers to sweep the UK as Met Office issues flood warning

10 February 2024, 13:12 | Updated: 10 February 2024, 13:19

Heavy showers are set to sweep the UK this weekend with fresh warnings in place for rain.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for the torrential downpours between 7pm on Saturday evening and 12pm on Sunday.

Flooding of homes and businesses is expected across the east and southwest of England.

There will also be travel disruption, with delays and cancellations to bus and train services likely.

Many areas will see 10-15 mm of rain, with the wettest spots seeing 25-30 mm, the Met Office said.

As of Saturday afternoon, there were 278 flood alerts in place across England and 76 flood warnings.

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It comes after dozens of schools in northern England and Wales were forced to close earlier in the week due to snow.

Around 10cm of snow was measured by the Met Office in Kirkwall, Orkney, on Thursday, and 9cm was recorded in Bingley, West Yorkshire.

More snow is on the way for parts of Scotland this weekend, with Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands set to be the worst hit.

Residents have been warned of a small chance of power cuts as well as an impact on other services such as mobile phone coverage.

Some rural communities could be cut off and there is a small chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces.

The unsettled conditions follow Storm Jocelyn, which hit at the end of January forcing several train operators to cancel services.

Just one day before it hit, Storm Isha swept the UK, with 100mph winds and flooding.

There have been 10 named storms to hit the UK in the last five months.