Thunderstorms and flooding set to cause washout as Met Office issues yellow warning for rain for parts of UK

15 April 2025, 13:33

Heavy rain in parts of the UK on Tuesday and Wednesday could cause a washout leading to flooding, transport disruption and thunderstorms, the Met Office has warned.

The warm spell in early April has given way to downpours and cooler temperatures across parts of the UK.

Milford Haven in Wales saw 26mm of rain on Monday night, the Met Office reported, and Eskdalemuir in Scotland had 20mm.

Meanwhile, areas of Newcastle dropped below freezing overnight, while temperatures reached 1C in Scotland.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for rain on Tuesday and Wednesday in areas of the north and south west of England and in Wales.

The agency also warned of "isolated thunderstorms" in the south east of England.

'Flood risks'

Dane Broomfield, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: "Heavy rain and showers today and into Wednesday morning mean surface water flood risk is elevated in some places.

"Minor surface water flooding is probable across parts of south west England, as well as smaller areas in the North West and the West Midlands.

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"Environment Agency teams will be out on the ground and supporting local authorities in responding to surface water flooding.

"We urge people not to drive through floodwater - it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car."

'More unsettled'

Georgie Myers, Met Office press officer, said: "As low pressure is back in charge this week, there are cooler and more unsettled conditions.

"There's a yellow warning for rain from midday on Tuesday until noon on Wednesday covering south-west England, Wales, and the north west of England.

"Northern Ireland has a yellow warning for rain from tomorrow afternoon into tomorrow evening."

A yellow weather warning means there is a medium likelihood flood risk that is likely to have a low impact.

'Gloomier'

Met Office chief meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: "After a long spell of high pressure bringing dry weather and sunshine, gloomier and unsettled conditions are on the horizon.

"Low pressure has become established to the west of the UK, bringing cloud, rain showers, and lower temperatures for many.

"High rainfall totals are possible, but given the recent dry conditions significant impacts are not anticipated.

"The situation remains under close watch, with further wet conditions anticipated on Thursday and another weather front moving in on Friday."

Met Office spokesman Craig Snell warned on Sunday that this week is "going to feel very different" from the sunshine seen last week across the UK.

This comes after fire chiefs issued a number of wildfire warnings across the UK last week.

On Friday, the National Fire Chiefs Council said fire and rescue services in England and Wales have responded to 380 wildfires so far this year, more than double the number during the same period in 2022.