More rain for southern England and south Wales following Storm Debi

A yellow weather warning has been issued for Thursday as rain continues to affect southern England and south Wales following Storm Debi.

The Met Office said 30-40mm of rain could fall across the south coast, particularly along east-facing slopes, with 10-20mm more widely seen.

The warning is in place from midnight to 6pm and spans the entirety of the English south coast, including Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, East and West Sussex and large parts of Kent and Hampshire.

In southern Wales, the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and St David’s will also be affected.

Localised flooding and travel disruption could impact the South West through the morning rush hour and the South East in the afternoon.

It comes after southern England was battered by Storm Debi earlier this week.

Ellie Glaisyer, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “In terms of the rain, that will gradually be spreading from the South West through the latter part of this evening and the early part of Thursday morning, and slowly tracking its way eastwards.

“It will gradually clear away towards the south east as we go through the afternoon, hence the warning finishing at 6pm.”

There will also be some strong winds, with gusts of up to 50mph expected on the coast and a chance of 60mph in west Cornwall.

However, these winds will be at their strongest through the first part of the morning and will gradually ease throughout the day.

The northern half of the country will see a drier day with some sunshine, but an organised band of showers will sweep across Northern Ireland, western Scotland and northern England through the afternoon and evening before easing.

Ms Glaisyer added much of the rain across the whole country will move on overnight, with Friday “probably the driest day of the week” and plenty of sunshine in northern and eastern areas.