Seven 'danger to life' flood warnings still in place across UK

10 November 2019, 09:47

Seven flood alerts remain in force across the country with rivers swollen and further rain expected on Sunday night.

Showers across southern and western England, as well as light snow over high ground in Wales, will slowly die out overnight, with water levels reducing, said the Met Office.

Conditions will be chilly for most of the country, with temperatures between 4C-7C (39 to 45F) for most, rising to around 9C-10C (48-50F) across the south, said meteorologist Luke Miall.

The respite comes after the UK was hit by widespread flooding, with towns across the Midlands and northern England deluged by a month's worth of "almost biblical" rain in just one day, killing one person.

Former High Sheriff of Derbyshire Annie Hall died after being engulfed by floodwater in Darley Dale, near Matlock, with her body pulled from the River Derwent in the early hours of Friday.

A total of seven severe "danger to life" flood warnings, all along the River Don in Yorkshire, remained in place on Saturday night, according to the Environment Agency.

There were also 59 active flood warnings and 92 flood alerts as hundreds were evacuated from their homes.

Elsewhere on Sunday, a weather warning for ice will take hold across the east of Northern Ireland until 10am as icy stretches are expected to form overnight, while temperatures could plunge as low as minus 8C (17F) in the Scottish Highlands.

Mr Miall said: "Under clear and starry skies we will see that frost forming, some dense patches of fog, especially for Northern Ireland, perhaps some northern counties of England as well.

"If you're heading to any services it will be a pretty fine day. Into the afternoon it's a brightening up picture for much of the country.

"We see long spells of sunshine, just a few showers affecting those north sea coasts."

But through Sunday evening a weather front bringing snow and rain will sweep in from the west.

It will push through Northern Ireland, march into Wales, Scotland and eventually cover much of England, coming with gusty winds.

Mr Miall said: "You will notice some fairly persistent snow across the higher ground in Scotland ... elsewhere it's falling as rain but it will be a fairly gloomy old night to come, with quite brisk winds as well."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn warned the UK could expect more extreme weather due to climate change and said cuts to emergency services mean rescue teams are "struggling to cope".

Yorkshire and the Midlands were among the areas worst affected by the heavy downpours on Thursday and Friday.

Sheffield in South Yorkshire received 84mm of rain over 36 hours, which is almost the average monthly rainfall for Yorkshire, the Met Office said.

Commuters in South Yorkshire were warned some rail and road routes would likely stay closed until at Monday morning at least as some rail tracks will remain submerged underwater.

Train operator Northern said: "The rail industry is doing all it can to deal with the issues caused by flood water, but in many cases the full picture will not be apparent until all water has been drained from the tracks."

"Until further notice we are still advising customers not to travel in some areas as rail travel is not possible and roads are also badly affected."

Affected routes include Doncaster to Scunthorpe, Sheffield to Goole, Sheffield to Doncaster, and Sheffield to Leeds.