Weather warning for rain issued as parts of the country look set to be soaked

Parts of the UK look set to be soaked by downpours after a yellow warning for rain was issued.

Widespread heavy showers are set to drench London, south-east and south-west England and parts of Wales, which is covered by the yellow warning until midnight on Monday.

The Met Office said that “10-15mm of rain is likely fairly widely with 20-30mm in some places exposed to the strong south to south-easterly winds”.

By 5pm on Sunday, the Environment Agency (EA) had 96 flood warnings in place, mostly across the South, the South West and the East and West Midlands.

The EA also had 218 flood alerts in place, meaning flooding is possible, spanning much of England.

Heavy rain on Monday afternoon and evening may cause some flooding and disruption to travel, the Met Office said.

Temperatures are set to reach double figures across parts of the Midlands, eastern England and the South East so it “might feel relatively pleasant for February”, according to Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan.

In an online forecast, he added: “Out towards the west here we have another area of rain pushing in through the afternoon, with the wind strengthening, particularly in the South West.

“The winds are coming in from a south-easterly direction, so it is coming on to coasts that have been particularly affected by recent storms.

“There will be some heavy rain and the rain is falling on saturated ground so further flooding is possible, particularly as we move into the evening.”

He added there could “potentially be some surface water on the roads for Monday evening’s rush hour and some difficult driving conditions” for parts of Wales, central southern England and towards the South East.