UK weather forecast: Nearly 100 flood warnings in place with two weeks' worth of rain expected to batter Britain

Ellena Cruse21 December 2019

Nearly 100 weather warnings are in place across the country, as widespread flooding threatens to bring further disruption to motorists on the Christmas getaway.

Rain will continue over the weekend, with 30mm - which experts say is two weeks' worth of rainfall - expected to fall in some parts of the country.

The hardest hit areas will be the south east and south west, with the rest of the country expected to see scattered showers.

As of Saturday afternoon, some 99 flood warnings - where flooding is expected - and 235 flood alerts were in place across the country.

The east of England bore the brunt of the rainfall this morning
@russelldavis81

In Surrey a tornado whipped through the county causing damage to nearby homes and felling trees, it was reported.

The Met Office released radar images showing a heavy shower that could have caused the tornado, which hit Chertsey and Shepperton on Saturday morning.

Images on social media show debris littering the roads after tiles were stripped off rooftops.

A small tornado is said to have hit Chertsey and Shepperton in Surrey causing damage to nearby homes and felling trees
@QPRSteve1982

People nearby were also reporting that cars have been damaged and vans have been blown over.

A yellow "be aware" weather warning of more heavy rain is also in place across southern England until 9am on Sunday.​

The Met Office is urging all drivers to take care on the roads, with the rain expected to fall in areas already hit by flooding.

Flooding in Pulborough, West Sussex
@Strudle2807

The weather will be drier on Sunday, but conditions will be on the "breezy side", the Met Office said.

A Met Office spokesman said: "An area of heavy rain reaching south west England on Saturday afternoon will extend east across remaining southern areas through the evening.

"Drier weather will follow from the west on Saturday night with the rain clearing the south east on Sunday morning.

"Whilst amounts of rain are not expected to be particularly large, 5-15 mm and perhaps 20-30 mm in a few places, some flooding is possible with the rain falling onto saturated ground."

The river has increased in size in Maidstone Kent
@jpurle

On Friday, the M23 was closed between junctions 10 and 11 in West Sussex for around eight hours after a nearby watercourse burst its banks.

Sussex Police described driving conditions as "miserable" and said there was "a lot of standing water on the roads".

Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services were affected after rail lines were flooded.

Passengers were urged not to travel between Brighton and Gatwick Airport on Friday morning, with a heavily reduced service in place for the rest of the day.

Devon and Cornwall Police said flooding across the force area made "a number of roads impassable", while Norfolk and Suffolk Police said roads in both counties were affected by floodwater.

Highways England urged motorists to adapt their driving for wet weather by slowing down, keeping well back from the vehicle in front and easing off the accelerator if steering becomes unresponsive.

John Halsall, managing director of Network Rail's southern region, said the combination of one of the wettest autumns since records began with a month's worth of rainfall in the past five days has put the rail network "under enormous pressure".

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