Heavy Rain Threatens to Bring More Flooding to Parts of the UK

Heavy rain threatens to bring more flooding to parts of the UK this week in the wake of a weekend washout. Weather warnings are in place for Tuesday and Wednesday with up to 75mm of rainfall expected in eastern Scotland, equivalent to a third of the average for December. It comes after Storm Elin and Storm Fergus hit over the weekend causing widespread disruption to roads, rail and sports fixtures across the country and leaving 45 areas with flood warnings. Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: “Wet and windy weather will come in on Monday night, pushing east into Tuesday. Eastern Scotland could see 50mm to 75mm of rain on Tuesday, so two or three inches in some spots, elsewhere it will be brighter but with some showers. It could be a chilly start in the north on Wednesday, a few icy patches and a touch of frost, but becoming drier and brighter.”

Weather Warnings and Rainfall

There are two yellow weather warnings currently in place for rain, which will continue to be reviewed. One is from 9am on Tuesday for the entire day for the east of Scotland, from Aberdeen to Kelso. The second is also for rain on Wednesday from 12am to 3am in the same area. The Met Office warned there is “a small chance that persistent rainfall through Tuesday and into early Wednesday may lead to some flooding of roads and properties”.

Flood Alerts and Risk

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has eight flood alerts in place for various regions in Scotland. Additionally, it has a yellow flood risk warning in place for Tuesday which means flooding could affect parts of communities with possible danger to life, damage to buildings and disruption to infrastructure.

Impact of Storms Elin and Fergus

Storms Elin and Fergus swept in from the Atlantic over the weekend bringing strong winds and heavy rainfall to large swathes of the UK. Parts of the South West and North West of England, Wales and northern and eastern Scotland were affected with a yellow weather warning stretching from Carlisle to Sheffield in place from Saturday to early on Sunday. The heavy rain affected train services and led to the postponement of several sports fixtures across the country.

Forecast for the Week

There is some good news on the meteorological horizon though. Mr Petagna said : “Later in the week things will gradually improve but Wednesday night there will be a spell of wet and windy weather. After that at the end of the week things will improve, away from north-west Scotland which will be wet, but elsewhere higher pressure will be building, temperatures will be between 8C and 12C, a degree or two above average for this time of the year.”