Advertisement

UK weather forecast: ‘Danger to life’ warning as more floods and snowfall expected

A man navigates flood water in York after the River Ouse burst its banks, as a third consecutive weekend of stormy weather is bringing further flooding misery to already sodden communities: PA
A man navigates flood water in York after the River Ouse burst its banks, as a third consecutive weekend of stormy weather is bringing further flooding misery to already sodden communities: PA

The UK is set to be hit by further flooding and even snowfall, offering little respite for submerged towns and villages across Wales, England and Scotland at the end of a February which has been among the wettest on record.

A third weekend of heavy rainfall following on from Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis saw homes flooded across the UK as rivers burst their banks and high levels of groundwater stymied hopes of relief.

In Scottish regions such West Dunbartonshire, cars were left stranded while south of the border communities in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Yorkshire were overrun by the waters.

Meanwhile, Welsh politicians have written to the chancellor Rishi Sunak to appeal for funding after more than 600 households and a similar number of businesses were effected in the Rhondda Cynon Taf region – with officials describing the flooding as "a national emergency on our doorsteps".

The Environment Agency has warned the risk of further flooding continues to be "significant", with areas in the West Midlands along the rivers Severn and Wye particularly at risk.

On Sunday a severe flood warning, meaning there is risk of danger to life, was issued for the Severn around Shrewsbury.

And the Met Office has introduced a yellow weather warning for snowfall across all but the most northern areas of Scotland from 3am on Monday.

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: "It could be a pretty tricky commute first thing tomorrow for a lot of people. It's certainly turning more wintry."

Northern Ireland and parts of northern England are also both subject to yellow weather warnings for rain and snow, with the area affected spanning from Nottingham to Newcastle and beyond.

Meanwhile, areas of the north that dodge the snow are still likely to see large amounts of rain and gale force winds, while the entire nation is expected to feel the impact of coller temperatures and showers.

England has already received more than 141 per cent of its average rainfall for February, with some regions experiencing an entire month’s worth in a 24 hour period.

And rivers including the Colne, Ribble, Calder, Aire, Trent, Severn, Wye, Lugg and Derwent have all broken records as their levels grew following the persistent downpours of the month.

Caroline Douglass, director of incident management at the Environment Agency, said: “Flooding has a long lasting and devastating impact on people’s lives, and our thoughts remain with all those who have been flooded and continue to feel the impacts of the persistent wet weather.

“Further spells of rain across England could cause further flooding, particularly in Yorkshire the Midlands. River levels remain high and ongoing river flooding remains probable for the River Severn next week as it responds to heavy rainfall.

“This has been the third weekend of exceptional river levels and stormy weather; with the effects of climate change, we need to prepare for more frequent periods of extreme weather like this. People need to be aware of their flood risk, sign up to flood warnings, make a flood plan and not to drive or walk through flood water.”

It comes after environment secretary George Eustice defended prime minister Boris Johnson, who has faced repeated calls to visit flood-stricken areas after neglecting to do so over the course of the month.

Mr Eustice told Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday: "It's not true that the Prime Minister's not been engaged in this."

He added: "In a Cabinet government it's not a one-man show, it's right that on certain operational things such as this that the prime ninister will ask one of his cabinet members to lead, I can't see anything wrong with that."

Additional reporting by PA.

Read more

Flooding in Tenbury Wells could turn into an environmental catastrophe

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK