- Parts of Britain are being badly affected by flooding today with more heavy rainfall predicted for the week
- UK will face storms and heavy rain up until next month as 39 weather warnings are issued by Met Office
- Parts of the country were brought to a standstill yesterday due to torrential downpour affecting rail and roads
Britain is battling widespread flooding today after thunderstorms dumped a month’s worth of rain on London yesterday.
The Environment Agency issued 39 alerts and 12 warnings during the torrential downpour and Brits are being warned to stay vigilant with heavy rain expected for the rest of the week.
Britain will face storms and heavy rain up until next month and high winds, fog, and thunder and lightning may also hit this week.
An even more intense weather system is scheduled to hit the UK on Saturday, raising fears of more deadly floods.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said: ‘This pattern of very unsettled weather will remain right through until the weekend before another deep low arrives on Sunday.
‘This is due to the jet stream which has moved over the south of the UK and is steering unsettled weather in from the Atlantic.
‘There will be some quite intense rainfall through the next week and the risk of strong winds in parts of the country.’
A man carrying a woman through a flooded Moorgate station (left) and water pouring through the ceiling at the Liverpool Street station in London (right) last night
A commuter slipped over on the tiles on the concourse at Victoria Station in London which was also flooded
The wet and windy weather is set to continue over the next few days – though forecasters said it wouldn’t be as heavy as the deluge that battered the country on Tuesday
Hundreds of commuter thronged together at Liverpool Street station in London as heavy rain caused flooding on the railway line and severe delays
Unhappy commuters packed into the station in London as Tfl rail warned flooding had caused serious delays to journeys
Yesterday, thousands of commuters in the capital were hit by severe delays with railway lines flooded and tube stations closed.
Shocking photos showed people battling through floods with alerts issued all over England as remnants of Hurricane Humberto arrive from across the Atlantic.
A railway line near the busy Liverpool Street station flooded, causing severe delays with thousands of commuters packed into the station.
In total, four stations were forced to close or partially close in the because of flooding, which caused chaos in the capital.
In the rest of the UK, Boscombe Down in Wiltshire saw the heaviest rainfall, with 51.2mm falling at the military base near Amesbury in the 12 hours to 1pm.
Some areas saw more than 50mm of rain in less than 12 hours as wind, rain and thunder battered parts of the country.
The wet and windy weather is set to continue over the next few days – though forecasters said it wouldn’t be as heavy as the deluge that battered the country on Tuesday.
John Griffiths, from the Met Office, said: ‘It’s going to stay autumnal over the coming days with further spells of wet and windy weather – although nothing as heavy as yesterday – but there will be some brief dry and bright interludes.’
Flooding at Embankment station lead to parts of it closing as commuters struggled to get home following the torrential downpour
Several London underground stations had to close because of flooding, causing an evening of travel chaos for commuters.
Victoria was closed, St Paul’s station was completely shut between 4.45pm and 6pm and Metropolitan line westbound trains did not stop at Moorgate.
Eastbound Metropolitan line trains also did not stop at Liverpool Street station.
Footage recorded at the station shows water pouring through the ceiling, as trains set off on their journeys into Essex and East Anglia.
A shocking photo from Moorgate station showed passengers wading through murky rainwater in a submerged corridor.
A TfL spokeswoman said: ‘We apologise to customers whose journeys have been disrupted. A small number of our stations have been closed or part-closed due to flooding, caused by the heavy rain.
‘We’re working to clear the water as quickly as possible so that services can return to normal.’
Liverpool street station was one of the four tube stations partially closed because of the downpour – with leaks in the ceiling (left) and huge queues (right)
Four central London stations were forced to close or partially close because of flooding caused by the torrential downpour
Met Office meteorologist Steven Keates said: ‘It’s been very autumnal. After that long dry spell, it’s been a bit of a soaker this morning.
‘There’s been enough rainfall to cause some issues in a few places, and in the last couple of hours we have also seen some thunder in London, across central England and East Anglia.’
‘How can London go into chaos with a little bit of rain?’ Furious commuters slam services after four mayor stations close in the capital because of torrential downpour
Unimpressed commuters took to social media to share their displeasure after heavy rainfall led to travel chaos in London.
Four central London stations were closed after the torrential downpour caused flooding.
However, many questioned why the rain had such an effect, criticising transport services.
One person wrote: ‘A little bit of rain and London transport goes MIA. Taken me an hour to do a 15 minute journey.’
Another said: ‘Never mind Brexit, a couple of hours of rain seems to be enough to bring most of London to its knees.’
Heavy rain in Harrogate, Yorkshire, caused problems on the third morning of the cycling Road World Championships, as torrents of water running down the roads caused riders to slip and get a drenching.
In Birmingham, a car was pictured stranded surrounded by overflowing rain water.
However, Mr Keates described Tuesday as ‘a very mixed bag for the weather’ after Northern Ireland and north-west Scotland remained mostly dry.
Persistent and occasionally heavy rainfall continued into the evening in some places.
Mr Keates said: ‘We’re looking at a pretty wet rush hour for Newcastle, Edinburgh, and Glasgow as well.’
A second band of heavy rain also made an appearance around the south-west of England this evening.
Despite the ‘blustery, wet night’ ahead, Mr Keates added: ‘The saving grace is that it’s not going to be a particularly cold night, not getting below 11C or 12C.’
Widespread weather warnings were put in place up and down the UK on Tuesday as thunderstorms brought in the region of 2.7 inches of rain in some areas, leading to mass flooding and chaos for motorists.
The Environment Agency issued two flood warnings for south-west England and 27 flood alerts across the rest of the country.
Motoring experts warned commuters to be careful during the turbulent weather.
George Flinton, of the AA, said: ‘Heavy rain coupled with commuting home in busy traffic can make for some very hazardous driving conditions.
‘Road conditions can quickly deteriorate during very heavy rainfall, so drivers will need to take extra care and expect delays, even or motorways.
‘Allow plenty of extra time for your journey and leave twice as much space between you and the car in front to account for greater stopping distances.’
A BMW X5 driver and their passenger were left stranded in Birmingham after getting stuck trying to navigate through a torrent of water, with the passenger seen clambering into the boot to avoid getting wet
This garden was flooded after the River Alt in Liverpool burst its banks following yesterday’s downpour
Two inches of rain were forecast yesterday, with up to 2.7 inches in isolated spots, the Met Office said.
‘There is likely to be disruption throughout central and southern England this morning,’ Mr Miall said.
‘I would expect quite a lot of surface water flooding on the roads. That will cause some disruption to people travelling, so you can expect journey times to be delayed.’
source:dailymail
