UK weather: 'Three weeks of rain in two days' expected in flood-hit Wales
9 March 2020, 08:38
Three weeks' worth of rain is expected to drench already flood-hit Wales across Monday and Tuesday.
The Met Office issued an amber alert for mid-Wales on Monday, meaning there is a potential threat to life.
Heavy rain is expected between 6pm this evening and 10am on Tuesday morning.
Some communities could be cut off by floods while power cuts and public transport cancellations are also likely.
A yellow weather warning is also in place across many parts of the country for the start of the week, as well as parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria.
In Wales, which has already faced weeks of flooding and inclement weather, up to 90mm of rain is expected to fall across Monday and Tuesday.
With the average rainfall in Wales for March being 117mm, it means the worst-affected areas could experience three weeks' worth of rain in just over 24 hours.
Last month, Prince Charles visited towns and communities devastated by Storm Dennis.
The Prince of Wales spoke with individuals and businesses facing significant repair and clean-up operations in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area.
However, Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said there was more bad news on the way: "Through Monday it will be a fairly bright start but we will see rain spread in from the west by the afternoon.
"Then we will see heavy rain right through the rest of Monday, overnight and into Tuesday morning.
"The ground is already saturated and with all the rainfall we have had over recent weeks it is likely to lead to further flooding in places."
With a yellow weather warning in place, flooding in some homes and businesses can be expected, along with travel disruption due to water on roads and the risk of spray.
In England, the cities of Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield, as well as the town of Huddersfield, are set for roughly 50mm of rain - slightly under half the monthly average for March.
There are no further weather warnings currently in place for the rest of the week, however, widespread showers are expected to trouble already sodden communities.
On Sunday, the prime minister was heckled when visiting the town of Bewdley in Worcestershire along the River Severn, an area which was one of the worst-hit by recent flooding.
Boris Johnson has faced mounting criticism for failing to visit flood-hit communities, with some onlookers shouting "traitor" as he inspected flood defences.
He said during the visit it was "too easy" for a PM to "come to a place in a middle of an emergency", but that it was "not so easy, frankly, for the emergency services".
"What they have to do is then break off and gold command has to find somewhere to brief you, everybody has to gather. They're diverting from their work for hours and hours," he said.
"What I've been doing since the flooding began is coordinating the national response but also looking at what we can do in the next months and years to ensure this country really is ready to cope with the impacts of flooding."
