Heavy rain causes widespread floods in the UK by Jo Farrow
Exceptionally heavy rain across parts of the UK yesterday resulted in widespread flooding which saw thousands of people evacuating their houses to spend the night in emergency shelters. The Met Office had issued an early warning for heavy rain on Friday, with the rain resulting in many southern counties receiving three times July’s average rainfall.
The monthly average rainfall for July is around 35mm (1.4 inches), but Pershore in Worcestershire yesterday received 135mm (5.3 inches) over a 24 hour period. The heavy rain resulted in the cancellation of 140 flights from London’s Heathrow Airport, and the closure of many roads and rail lines.
Whilst much of Europe has been reeling under extreme heat over the past few weeks, the UK has been in the midst of a very unsettled spell of weather. The area of low pressure currently over the UK has created very unstable conditions allowing storms to develop and deliver heavy bursts of rain.
A flash warning for heavy thundery showers is currently in place for south-eastern counties today, meaning some places could receive a further 15- 20 mm of rain over the course of Saturday. With forecasters expecting another area of low pressure to move up towards the UK on Monday, the worst may not yet be over for many flood hit areas.
