It has rained every day so far this year in the south west of England and South Wales, with more wet weather on the way, the Met Office has said. The region experienced a much wetter than average January, with 50% more rainfall than usual.
A yellow weather warning for rain has been issued from 5am to just before midnight on Thursday, stretching from Chichester to Penzance and covering large parts of southern England and South Wales. The Met Office warned of possible surface water flooding and difficult driving conditions.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “The south west of England and southern Wales has seen a very wet start to the year, with rain reported somewhere in the region every day of the year so far. What’s notable is how the succession of fronts or low pressure systems from the west from around the middle of January took it from a fairly average month to a much wetter than average month.”
On Thursday, 10-20mm of rain is expected widely, with some areas seeing over 30mm. Flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible, along with potential power supply interruptions. A separate yellow rain warning also covers parts of Scotland from Wednesday evening to Thursday midday.
Meteorologist Alex Deakin said low pressure systems from the south west will bring cloud and rain, with a “chill to most places”. He added that further rain is expected over the next few days, with some snow over hills in northern England and eastern Scotland.
