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UK weather: rain and floods hit Christmas getaway UK weather: floods and rain hit Christmas getaway
(about 7 hours later)
More than 100 flood warnings and 255 flood alerts issued as millions of people hit roadsMore than 100 flood warnings and 255 flood alerts issued as millions of people hit roads
The Christmas getaway is likely to be hit by flooding as a swath of wet weather batters large parts of the country. Millions of Christmas getaway motorists were hit by wet weather across large parts of the country on Saturday, when a tornado apparently formed in Surrey.
As millions take to the roads this weekend, more than 100 flood warnings have been issued, with heavy rain forecast on Saturday afternoon and evening across southern England. More than 100 flood warnings were issued as downpours moved eastwards across southern England on Saturday afternoon and into the evening.
A further 255 flood alerts meaning flooding is possible are also in place in most places in England, stretching into the north. The Met Office said there had been reports of a tornado in Chertseyon Saturday morning, and footage on social media showed it tearing through garden fences.
Up to 30mm of rain will fall in nine hours as December’s unusually wet weather continues. Fire crews scrambled to deal with reports of damage to properties in the area. Resident Paula Webb told Surrey Live: “All I can remember is it was really heavy rain, I looked outside and it was so dark, it sounded almost like it was a plane taking off, you could see the trees were literally bent over. It was over in seconds, I could just see tiles off roofs and all the fencing down.”
Some areas of the country, including Essex, have already received a month’s rainfall despite there being 10 days until the new year. Across the UK, the country received 92% of the average rainfall for December by Thursday. Surrey Fire and Rescue service said in a statement: “We were called to a high wind incident affecting a number of houses in the Chertsey area.” Four fire engines and two aerial ladders were sent to the town, where crews worked to “make houses safe from damage to roofs”.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “I think it’s quite likely we will see further flooding in places and difficult driving conditions especially when lots of people are heading on the roads.” A further 255 flood alerts meaning flooding is possible were also in place around England, stretching into the north. Up to 30mm of rain was due to fall in nine hours on Saturday as December’s unusually wet weather continues. A yellow heavy rain warning in southern parts of the country is in place until 9am on Sunday.
The wet weather has been prompted by an area of low pressure sweeping eastwards across the channel. It is likely to cause problems for motorists with the RAC predicting 3.7m road trips on Saturday and a further 2.5m on Sunday. The yellow warning, which is the lowest on the Met Office’s scale means flooding of “a few homes and businesses is likely”, as well as disruption to bus and train services with increased journey times.
“This spell of wet weather [is] going to be heavy and persistent as it pushes across southern counties of England this afternoon, evening and overnight. Dramatic pictures taken by a drone showed the Great Ouse in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, where it has burst its banks. The car park of the Best Western Dolphin Hotel, situated next to the river, was underwater on Saturday.
“We do have a yellow rain warning for south of the M4 corridor, valid all the way until midday tomorrow. We could see 20-30mm of rainfall, which isn’t an especially high amount of rain to come over a relatively long period but because lots of people are travelling for the Christmas getaway, and we’ve had lots of rain already this month it’s falling on saturated ground so we’re likely to see flooding in places, there will be disruption to travel with spray on roads.” Receptionist Fiona Jones, who said the hotel remains open for business despite the weather, joked: “We have no car park at the moment, it’s a boating lake.”
But better news lies ahead, with the rain due to ease off on Sunday. “The rain that we’re seeing coming through later today, that should clear quite early on from the south-east tomorrow. Otherwise, we’re going to see some showers coming in places and lingering fog across northern parts. But, generally, tomorrow should be slightly drier, especially for those southern counties,” Burkill explained. Part of the hotel is on stilts as it sits on the river’s natural floodplain, she said, explaining that the car park has been flooded since Thursday. “The whole of the water meadow is flooded as well,” she said.
“There is a general drying theme as we go towards Christmas day. On Monday and Tuesday there should be some drier weather around. That being said, at the moment we are expecting another spell of wet weather on Monday night and slowly clearing as we go through Christmas Eve. So it’s not a complete dry picture by any means.” Saturday’s rainfall came after an already unusually wet December. Some areas of the country, including Essex, have already received a month’s rainfall with 10 days still to go until the new year. AThe country as a whole had received 92% of its average rainfall for December by Thursday.
However, hopes of a white Christmas are faint. “It’s looking pretty unlikely now, I think,” said Burkill. “On Christmas day itself we should see any lingering rain clearing away with high pressure bringing a largely settled day. It might be quite cold, chilly but it’s looking largely dry. is the result of an area of low pressure sweeping eastwards across the Channel, proving bad news for the more than 6m trips estimated by the RAC to be taken over the weekend.
Better news, however, lies ahead. Alex Burkill, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “The rain that we’re seeing coming through should clear quite early on from the south-east” on Sunday.
“Otherwise, we’re going to see some showers coming in places and lingering fog across northern parts. But, generally, tomorrow should be slightly drier, especially for those southern counties,” he said.
Temperatures will hit 10c in the south-west on Saturday, although some areas of the north may have lows of 3C because of mist and fog. “There is a general drying theme as we go towards Christmas day,” Burkill said. “On Monday and Tuesday there should be some drier weather around. That being said, at the moment we are expecting another spell of wet weather on Monday night and slowly clearing as we go through Christmas Eve. So it’s not a complete dry picture by any means.”
Hopes of a white Christmas are faint. “It’s looking pretty unlikely now, I think,” said Burkill. “On Christmas Day itself we should see any lingering rain clearing away with high pressure bringing a largely settled day. It might be quite cold, chilly but it’s looking largely dry.
“The only possibility of a white Christmas is there may be a couple of showers across parts of Scotland and over higher ground these could be falling as sleet and snow. It may be one of those where it’s technically a white Christmas where a little bit of snow is reported somewhere but, for the majority of us, it’s looking like it’s turning dry.“The only possibility of a white Christmas is there may be a couple of showers across parts of Scotland and over higher ground these could be falling as sleet and snow. It may be one of those where it’s technically a white Christmas where a little bit of snow is reported somewhere but, for the majority of us, it’s looking like it’s turning dry.
“It’s good news in as much as people will be able to go out and enjoy any outdoor Christmas presents and go for a stroll to work off the dinner.”“It’s good news in as much as people will be able to go out and enjoy any outdoor Christmas presents and go for a stroll to work off the dinner.”