Britons face weekend washout amid yellow warning for heavy rain

Millions of Britons face a weekend washout with a yellow alert in place for heavy rain in large parts of England and Wales, and flood warnings issued.

Pic: Met Office

The Met Office has said the rainfall is set to make its way eastwards from the Atlantic, and move across the UK from Saturday afternoon into Sunday.

Its yellow warning for heavy rain lasts from 3pm on Saturday until 9am on Sunday and covers southern England, the Midlands and much of Wales.

Originally, the alert covered all of England and Wales when it was issued on Friday.

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The Met Office said: “Whilst rain is still expected across all of England and Wales later on Saturday into early Sunday, the warning has been cancelled for much of north Wales and northern and western England as impacts are now less likely.”

The Environment Agency has issued eight flood warnings and 109 alerts in England, while Natural Resources Wales issued one alert in South Pembrokeshire.

The Met Office has already warned of possible flooding, travel disruption and power cuts, with as much as 40mm of rain set to fall on already saturated ground after downpours earlier in the week.

The organisation also said temperatures will hit unseasonable highs from 14C to 15C over the weekend as a mild spell from southern winds continues.

Forecaster Craig Snell said the “ground is already a little bit more saturated across England and Wales compared to Scotland and Northern Ireland, so they’ll be a little more sensitive to the rainfall”.

He added: “Some parts could see disruption, transport may be a little bit delayed and if you’re driving on the roads your journey may take a little bit longer due to spray and road closures.”

The red triangles indicate flood warnings while the amber ones are for alerts. Pic: Environment Agency

In its outlook for the week ahead, the Met Office said that Monday will see “showery rain pushing southeastwards… followed by showers in the North”.

It added: “Further rain in the North overnight on Tuesday sinking southwards. Unsettled for many on Wednesday. Staying fairly mild.”