The Met Office has issued new weather warnings for parts of the UK, with heavy rain and strong winds expected to cause disruption later this week. A yellow warning will come into force for London and south-east England, south-west England, Wales and the West Midlands from 5am on Thursday, lasting until midnight. Forecasters predict 10 to 20mm of rain widely, with some areas seeing more than 30mm, leading to surface water flooding and travel delays.
Separate warnings are in place for Scotland. Central, Tayside and Fife and Grampian are under a yellow warning until midday Thursday, with heavy rain and melting snow likely to cause issues. Northern and eastern Scotland face a warning until 3pm Wednesday, with periods of sleet and snow and strong winds bringing potential blizzard conditions. Up to 3cm of snow is expected above 100m, while at lower levels a mix of snow, sleet and rain may lead to small accumulations.
The unsettled weather follows Storm Chandra, which brought record-breaking rainfall to several areas. Provisional Met Office statistics show Northern Ireland experienced its wettest January in 149 years, while southern England recorded its sixth-wettest January since 1836. Met Office science manager Dr Amy Doherty said: "January has been exceptionally wet because we’ve seen a very persistent Atlantic weather pattern. A strong jet stream has repeatedly steered low-pressure systems towards the UK, bringing frequent spells of rain and wind."
Looking ahead, Wednesday will be cloudy with rain in Northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, with snow on higher hills. Drier further south with sunny spells. Thursday sees rain moving northwards, turning heavy in places, with possible snow across north Wales, the Pennines and Scottish mountains. Strong winds in the north. Into the weekend, wintry hazards continue for the northern half of the UK, with outbreaks of rain in the south and some drier spells on Saturday.
