Weather warning issued as heavy and persistent rain could lead to flooding

A yellow weather warning has been issued as “heavy and persistent rain” could lead to flooding, the Met Office said.

The yellow Met Office warning covers parts of London and the south of the UK from 9am until 10pm on Thursday, and says heavy rain falling on saturated ground may lead to some surface water flooding.

It comes after a major incident was declared in Kent and Sussex after around 30,000 properties were left without a water supply due to burst pipes and power cuts.

Storm Goretti brought gusts of almost 100mph and a rare red warning for “dangerous, stormy” winds in the south-west of England last week.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has three flood warnings in place for England, meaning flooding is expected, along with 41 flood alerts where flooding is possible.

The yellow weather warning says flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible, while bus and train services will probably be affected with longer journey times and there could be flooding on roads.

Between 20 and 30mm of rain is expected fairly widely in the warning area, with the potential for 40 to 50mm in a few isolated spots, the forecaster added.

Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “As we head into tomorrow, important to note it will be drier for much of the north of England, Scotland and Wales, but north-west Scotland could see some showers.

“An area of low pressure is going to bring heavy and persistent rain to parts of southern England and will be accompanied by some gusty winds at times.

“There’s the possibility of travel disruption for some and the possibility of flooding in a few places as well.”

Parts of the south could see winds of 35 to 45mph at times, which the Met Office is keeping an eye on, Mr Dixon said.

There will be some showers in western areas on Friday and patchy cloud elsewhere, with a similar picture over the weekend, Mr Dixon added.

On Monday, the UK Government said the wintry weather had triggered its cold weather payments scheme, which means pensioners and low-income households automatically receive £25 for every seven-consecutive-day period of very cold weather.

The scheme covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Minister for pensions Torsten Bell said: ”As temperatures plunge, cold weather payments will automatically get support directly to vulnerable households.

“Combined with the biggest-ever pension credit take-up campaign and our triple lock commitment – set to increase the state pension by up to £2,100 over this Parliament – we’re ensuring pensioners get the support they need this winter.”

Earlier, police said a man in his 50s was found dead in a caravan after a tree fell on to the vehicle in Helston, Cornwall, following Storm Goretti.

Emergency services were called to the scene on Thursday evening and work took place on Friday to remove the tree.