England set for a soaking with heavy rain forecast - and 34 flood alerts

13 October 2019, 15:29

Parts of England are set to be drenched with rain as heavy downpours sweep across the country, the Met Office has said.

Forecasters warned that more than two inches of rain could fall within 12 hours on Monday.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning stretching from Devon on the south coast to South Yorkshire between 12 midday and midnight.

34 flood alerts are in place across most of England except the south-east.

Cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Oxford, London and Portsmouth are also within the warning area.

The Met Office said the wet weather will move northwards across much of England on Monday, with the heaviest rain forecast for the afternoon and evening.

While up to 25mm is likely to fall "quite widely", some areas could see up to 60mm (2.3 inches), the Met Office said.

"This brings a risk of flooding and disruption, but the situation is uncertain, such that the likelihood of this across any given county is small," the Met Office said.

The wet weather will follow an "unsettled" Sunday across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson said.

Heavy rain is forecast for the Midlands, northern England and Northern Ireland, with some areas seeing up to 20mm fall throughout Sunday.

Meanwhile, gusts of around 20mph to 30mph are forecast for East Anglia and the North East coast.

Mr Wilson said: "It is looking pretty unsettled.

"Heavy rain across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will push northwards throughout the day.

"We have not got any weather warnings out [for Sunday], but the rain could cause [road] surface spray, so that could lead to some difficult driving conditions."

Mr Wilson said the wet weather will push north throughout the day into southern Scotland.

It will be followed by drier weather moving up from the South and South West from the mid-afternoon, Mr Wilson said.

South-east England is forecast to see the warmest temperatures at 18C, while the north of England will see the coolest temperatures - between 11C and 12C.

Mr Wilson said the rain will "ease" overnight on Sunday and will be followed by fog patches across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Despite more wet weather on Monday, Mr Wilson said there is an "improving picture" for Tuesday, with temperatures reaching up to 16C.

He said while there will be some rain in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, it will be "drier" for the rest of the UK.