Saturday, December 21, 2024

UK weather: Floods trigger travel disruption in England as fresh warning issued

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Commuters are facing road closures and disrupted rail services as dozens of flood warnings remain in place and further rainfall is expected.

Some areas have been struck by more than a month’s worth of rain in the past 24 hours – with rising waters damaging homes and making roads impassable.

Meanwhile, a fresh weather warning has been issued – bringing the potential for heavy rain, strong winds and the risk of yet more flooding.

The yellow warning is for the entire of Thursday, covering an area from Nottinghamshire to Northumberland.

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A yellow warning is in force for Thursday

The Met Office said: “A period of heavy and persistent rain is expected to affect parts of northern England and north Midlands during much of Thursday.

“The heaviest rainfall is likely to be across the Pennines and North York Moors where 80-100 mm of rainfall could accumulate during the course of the day.

“Strong winds may also affect coastal locations and routes over high ground.”

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House flooded as heavy rain hits UK

The Environment Agency (EA) has issued flood warnings – the second highest alert level – for several areas of England including across parts of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Kent and Somerset.

Some of the areas included:

• River Sheppey in Somerset around Shepton Mallet
• River Medway in Kent between Forest Row and Edenbridge
• River Ouzel in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire between Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes
• River Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire around the town of St Neots
• River Cherwell in Oxfordshire in Banbury

See the Sky News forecast for your area

The agency has said further light rainfall is expected over the next 12 hours which will keep river levels high. The respective agencies in Scotland or Wales have not issued any warnings.

It comes after parts of Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire saw more than 100mm of rain in the last 48 hours, with Woburn in Bedfordshire seeing 142.8mm recorded, more than twice the amount of its September average rainfall amount according to the Met Office.

Vehicles drive through flood water in Perry Bar, Birmingham. Pic: PA
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Flooding also hit Perry Bar in Birmingham. Pic: PA

The rear boot of a submerged car is seen on the A421 dual carriageway road after it was flooded following heavy rain, at Marston Moretaine near Bedford, Britain, September 23, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville
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The rear boot of a virtually submerged car near Bedford. Pic: Reuters

The flooding has damaged homes and continued to cause travel disruption on Tuesday, closing several routes, according to National Highways:

• A421 northbound closed between M1 (J13) and Bedford
• A421 southbound closed between M1 and A6
• A5 closed northbound between the A422 and A509

Young people look toward the A421 dual carriageway road after it was flooded following heavy rain, at Marston Moretaine near Bedford, Britain, September 23, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville
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The A421 near Bedford. Pic: Reuters

Rail services have also been affected in some areas, as flooding between Rugby and Milton Keynes central is disrupting Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway, according to National Rail.

Chiltern Railways is reporting issues on services between Birmingham Snow Hill / Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone, while Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern are also seeing problems between Rugby and Milton Keynes Central.

Meanwhile, buses are replacing trains between Bletchley and Bedford on London Northwestern.

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The National Grid said it had seen a week’s worth of power cuts across the weekend.

The Met Office predicts that much of southern Britain will be dry on Tuesday, but the afternoon may bring a few showers to Wales and central England.

An amber weather warning had been issued until 9pm on Monday, covering a large part of central and parts of southwestern England.

AFC Wimbledon and Newcastle’s Carabao Cup third-round meeting on Tuesday had to be postponed due to “extensive overnight flooding” at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

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