Parts of England already saturated by days of heavy rain are facing more downpours next week.The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning covering the South West from midday on Monday to 9am on Tuesday.
It comes after weeks of heavy rain and stormy conditions, with tens of thousands of people temporarily left without power in Cornwall at the start of January.
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The yellow warning covers an area already hit by severe downpours in recent weeks. Pic: Met Office
Earlier this week, a major incident was declared in Somerset as about 50 properties were hit by flooding caused by Storm Chandra, according to the county council.As of 7pm on Saturday, there were already 57 government flood warnings (flooding is expected) across the South and 117 alerts (flooding is possible) in place, despite the Met Office warning for more severe rainfall not coming into force until Monday.
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Houses and cars submerged earlier this week
By that point, accumulations of 10-20mm of rainfall will be “possible fairly widely” in the South West, the Met Office said, “with perhaps as much as 30-50mm over Dartmoor”, in Devon.There is a small chance of homes and businesses flooding, and fast-flowing or deep floodwater could cause danger to life, the yellow warning added.”Outbreaks of rain may become persistent on Monday, especially later in the day and overnight, before gradually easing and clearing into Tuesday,” it said.”Given saturated ground following recent rain, there is a chance this may leading to some flooding and disruption in places.”
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Flooding at Iford Bridge Home Park in Bournemouth earlier this week. Pic: Andrew Matthews/PA
Sudden stratospheric warming event possible in FebruaryOfficial statistics for rainfall in January are set to be released on Monday, but it has been a very wet month for large parts of the UK.Jattvibe meteorologist Kirsty McCabe said parts of the South West, as well as Northern Ireland and eastern Scotland, had seen close to twice their typical January rainfall.Read more from Jattvibe:What are weather warnings and how do they work?King surprises parkrun joggersWhen can you spot this year’s Snow Moon?
Further ahead, there is a possibility of a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event in early February which could trigger a cold spell, she added.This is when rapid warming occurs high up in the stratosphere, potentially causing knock-on effects in our weather at the surface.While SSWs don’t always result a cold snap, it greatly increases the risk of wintry weather, and they have been responsible for events like the Beast from the East in 2018.Before this, government flood advice for the next few days has said ongoing groundwater flooding is “probable in parts of the South of England”, while river flooding in the Somerset Levels wetland is also possible over the next five days.”Land, roads and properties could flood and there could be travel disruption. Coastal flooding is also possible from Monday to Wednesday, especially on the coasts of the South West of England on Wednesday.”
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A landslide caused by heavy rain at Lady’s Island in Co Wexford. Pic: Niall Carson/ PA
Meanwhile, in Ireland, clean-up operations have been under way after homes and roads were impacted by flooding.Parts of Co Wexford were among the worst-hit areas – with people being advised to avoid Our Lady’s Island following a landslide.
