Parts of the UK are braced for heavy rain and flooding on Thursday, with up to 150mm of rainfall forecast in some areas. The Met Office has issued yellow rain warnings for Scotland, Northern Ireland, southwest England and Wales, alongside a more severe amber warning covering parts of Scotland.
The amber warning, which poses a 'danger to life', came into effect at midnight on Thursday and remains in place until 6pm. Forecasters warn homes and businesses in affected areas are likely to be flooded, with floodwater potentially causing danger to life.
A yellow warning for rain is also in force across wider parts of Scotland, having begun at 6pm on Wednesday and lasting until 11:59pm on Friday. Elsewhere, a separate yellow warning covers southwest England and south Wales, where 5 to 15mm of rain is likely to fall widely in a few hours, with up to 20mm in some places, leading to possible flooding and disruption to road, bus and train services.
Met Office Chief Forecaster Dan Harris said: "Rain will turn increasingly persistent and heavy late on Wednesday and through much of Thursday for parts of Scotland, which has resulted in Amber and Yellow warnings for rain being issued. Within the Amber warning area, some areas of high ground exposed to the strong southeasterly wind are likely to see in excess of 100mm of rain, whilst 50-80mm is more probable for many places within the broader Yellow warning."
He added that flooding is expected in some places, with rivers taking longer to respond to rainfall and impacts potentially continuing through Thursday. The Environment Agency has issued 10 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, and more than 131 flood alerts, where flooding is possible, across England as of Thursday morning.
