Damp start to the week as winter washout brings further flood warnings to parts of the UK

24 February 2025, 09:22 | Updated: 24 February 2025, 09:53

It has been a damp start to the week as the winter washout has brought heavy rain and flood warnings to the UK.

14 warnings - meaning flooding is expected - are in place across the south and south west of England.

The Environment Agency warned people not to drive through floods, adding that "just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car", and urging people to sign up for free flood warnings.

Damp conditions brought about by the heavy rain have caused disruption for travellers with road and rail services disrupted.

During the wet and blustery weekend, winds of more than 70 miles per hour were recorded in parts of Scotland and Wales on Sunday.

However, tomorrow is expected to be brighter with a mixture of sunshine and light showers.

Throughout the rest of the week, it will be wet and windy with heavy rain for most on Wednesday - before becoming more settled by Thursday.

Transport for Wales services aren't running between Pontypridd and Tonypandy

There are delays across the ScotRail network especially at Glasgow.

Great Western Railway services are delayed by about half an hour between Guildford and Farnborough

The roads are very wet after all the heavy rain overnight, causing havoc for motorists.

Due to flooding there are long delays on the M25 clockwise from Junction 9, Leatherhead to Junction 12, M3

And in Hampshire, there are queues on the M27 Westbound to Junction 12, Portsmouth after an accident.

In Greater Manchester, there are delays on the M62 Westbound to Junction 11, Birchwood because there's a load of debris across the road.

In Essex, there are queues on the M25 clockwise to Junction 30, A13 because a car has broken down.

Throughout the rest of the week, rain is expected in East Anglia and south east England - but with sunshine and showers expected later.

Strong winds are expected the east throughout the day.

The Met Office added the westerly set-up for the UK’s weather is likely to continue next week, with "showers and possibly some longer spells of rain and windy conditions likely at times".

"After a very mild few days, temperatures will drop back closer to average for the time of year for most places," the forecaster added.

On Tuesday, brisk weather is expected with the threat of rain in the east of England.

Otherwise, there will be sunny spells elsewhere with showers expected in the north west of the UK.

Wintry conditions are likely on higher ground in the Scottish highlands.

An amber weather warning was in place for rain was issued for parts of southern Wales.

It remained 3pm on Sunday to 6am on Monday morning as between as up to 100mm was forecast.

Flood risk alerts were also issued for the region.

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Andrew Morgan, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council, said Sunday had been a "close call" after thousands of sandbags were distributed to high-risk areas.

Hundreds of homes and businesses in the area were flooded in November by Storm Bert.

Mr Morgan told PA on Sunday night: "It's been a busy day for the dozens of crews and contractors on stand-by.

"Overall, while there has been isolated issues with culverts, the majority of calls has been for surface water flooding and highways.

"Today has, I believe, been a close call from rivers flooding in some areas. I will be discussing this with Natural Resources Wales in the coming days."

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Andy Page, said: “We are now entering of period weather being influenced by low pressure systems from the Atlantic.

"Strong winds and heavy rain during Sunday will bring the potential for travel disruption, dangerous conditions near coasts and the possibility of power cuts for some.”

“As well as a number of yellow warnings for wind and rain we have issued an amber rain warning covering  part of South Wales.

"Higher ground within this area could see 50 – 70 mm of rain this afternoon, evening and overnight with a few locations seeing 80 – 100 mm.

"As this rain is falling in an area where the ground is already wet there is the likelihood it could cause some impacts.”

“It is also windy with many central, northern and western parts of the UK seeing gusts of up to 50-60 mph at times, and as much as 65-75mph in exposed spots along Irish Sea coastlines, Scottish Islands, and other areas of high ground further inland.”