England and Wales are back on flood alert as Britain braces for a "once in 50 years” storm which could bring a month's worth of rain in 24 hours and 70mph winds.
After a dry period of respite for many parts of Britain over the last two days, the wet weather is set to return this evening and get worse tomorrow as a slow-moving area of low pressure brings thundery showers and strong winds.
The Met Office has issued a new warning of wet and windy weather with periods of persistent heavy rain for parts of Wales and south-western England from late today until Saturday.
The Weather Channel said rivers would be overwhelmed and warned of a “major flooding event.” Up to 50mm more rain is due in many areas on Friday.
The Environment Agency told people in the South-West, Wales and Midlands to “prepare for flooding.” Dozens of flood alerts and warnings are expected to be in place tomorrow.
EA bosses implemented 24-hour shift patterns, visited all 150 campsites in Devon and Cornwall to warn of flooding and dispatched hundreds of extra flood specialists to assess nationwide defences and clear debris blocking rivers and drains.
There are concerns the rain could lead to surface water flooding particularly in upland areas and places already at risk of floods after heavy rain earlier this week.
Pumping equipment has been deployed in several areas in West Sussex to pump out water following flooding earlier in the week.
In preparation, teams were out closing flood gates, operating flood storage areas, clearing debris from known hotspots and warning local communities about the possibility of flooding.
Peter Quarmby, the Environment Agency's South East flood and coastal risk manager, said: "We have seen exceptional rainfall in the region over the past few days and have seen the devastating effects that flooding can cause.
"Our thoughts are with those who have been affected.
"We are focusing all efforts in working in areas that have been affected by flooding over the past few days to lower river levels and will continue to work alongside our emergency partners to assist flooded communities with immediate response and recovery.
"Latest forecasts indicate that heavy rainfall is again expected to cross the South East on Friday and into the weekend. We urge everyone to remain vigilant ahead of further rainfall tomorrow and over the weekend.
"We are monitoring the weather forecasts very closely and the possibility remains that we could issue further flood alerts in response to any significant rainfall."
The Weather Channel forecast up to 110mm of rain in around 48 hours in Wales and said there was a 50 per cent chance of a once-in-50 years 80mm deluge in just 12 hours.
Weather Channel forecaster Leon Brown said: “There’s a 50 per cent possibility of extreme downpours seeing over 80mm of rain in 12 hours in south and east Wales, which is a once-in-50 years event.
“The greatest intensity of rain will be early Thursday night and again on Friday daytime. Overall, up to 110mm is expected in Wales in just over 48 hours to midnight Saturday.
“This rainfall will be widespread across river catchment areas and could completely overwhelm rivers downstream. There is a high risk of flooding, with the situation made even worse by ground being saturated from previous rain this week.”
The Met Office said: “Another unseasonable Atlantic storm will bring heavy rain and strong winds across the UK over the next few days.
“The heaviest rain was expected this evening and overnight, with 20-40mm widely and the potential for 40-60mm across upland Wales and particularly Northern Ireland, accompanied by gales gusing to 50mph.
“Rain will linger across parts of the North and southern Scotland on Friday, with a risk of heavy showers elsewhere and further rain in the South-East later.
“Saturday looks rather unsettled with most places seeing showers or longer spells of rain.”
Sunday will see lighter rain and sunny spells - but weekend temperatures will reach just 17C for most in the South, and only 11C in Scotland.
Source Telegraph
