The Met Office has issued new weather warnings this week, including one for rain spanning several areas such as the Southwest of England, as conditions remain unsettled
Brits living in 39 areas have been urged to prepare an “emergency” kit as the Met Office has issued a fresh weather warning.
The alert for rain, which starts at 9am on Thursday and isn’t expected to cease until 11.59pm that day, warns residents flooding is likely. Up to 70mm (nearly three inches) of rain is expected during this timeframe, which equates to around a standard January’s precipitation for some cities in the areas affected by the warning.
The Met Office website reads: “A deepening area of low pressure will migrate northeastwards across England and Wales on Thursday. Whilst the exact track is uncertain, rain will become persistent and heavy through the day, before clearing to the north through the evening and night.
“Accumulations of 20-40 mm are expected fairly widely, in some places falling in just a few hours, with the potential for 40-70 mm in a few isolated spots, this most likely across parts of the southwest England. Given the saturated ground, this may lead to some surface water flooding.”
Due to this concern, Brits living across the affected regions should get “an emergency kit” ready in case of flooding, the Met Office says. This should include essential items, such as insurance documents, a list of contact numbers, a torch and spare batteries.
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In full, the emergency kit should include;
- Insurance documents and list of contact numbers
- Torch and spare batteries
- First aid kit and any prescription medicines
- Warm waterproof clothes and blankets
- Bottled water and snacks
- Battery or wind-up radio
- Supplies for looking after your baby or pet
The weather warning covers all of the Southwest of England, most of south Wales, parts of the Midlands and parts of the Southwest of England. The band of low pressure will move east across the capital, which will see heavy rain in the evening — albeit not enough to constitute a weather warning.
There are already flood warnings and alerts in place, including for the River Severn at Severn Ham, Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. This is part of the weather warning in place for Thursday. High river levels are expected to cause flooding today and tomorrow at Severn Ham, which will affect property and roads in and around the site.
And there is also particular concern for the Mid Bristol Avon area, groundwater flooding in the west of Dorset and Chertsey Bourne in Berkshire and Surrey among other waterways.
Regions and local authorities affected by the weather warning:
London & South East England
- Brighton and Hove
- East Sussex
- Hampshire
- Isle of Wight
- Oxfordshire
- Portsmouth
- Southampton
- Surrey
- West Berkshire
- West Sussex
South West England
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole
- Bristol
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Dorset
- Gloucestershire
- North Somerset
- Plymouth
- Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
- Swindon
- Torbay
- Wiltshire
Wales
- Blaenau Gwent
- Bridgend
- Caerphilly
- Cardiff
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Monmouthshire
- Neath Port Talbot
- Newport
- Powys
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Swansea
- Torfaen
- Vale of Glamorgan
West Midlands
- Herefordshire
- Worcestershire
