Flood warnings and yellow weather alerts for rain issued for parts of the UK

The Met Office has issued two yellow weather warnings for rain on Thursday amid fears of possible flooding for parts of the country.

Parts of southwestern England and south Wales will be hit with heavy rain from 11am until midnight, which could bring some disruption, the Met Office said.

Bus and train services could be delayed, while spray and flooding could slow down drivers.

The affected area stretches from Cornwall to Bath, extending to Plymouth in the south and past Cardiff in southern Wales.

At the time of writing, 14 flood warnings and 110 flood alerts have also been issued. The majority of the flood warnings, where flooding is likely, have been issued for parts of the River Severn, forecasters said.

The Met Office said: “Further rain, on already saturated ground, is expected to move north and east to affect parts of southwest England and south Wales on Thursday morning and will become persistent and heavy at times; 15 to 20 mm of rain is expected to fall widely with 30 to 40 mm likely over higher ground.”

A second yellow warning covers Leicester, Leicestershire and Warwickshire in the Midlands, where the Met said a “further spell of rain” is expected from 2pm until 3am on Friday.

In addition to travel delays, the Met warned that some interruption to power supplies and other services is expected while some homes and businesses may be hit by flooding.

The Met said: “More rain, on already saturated ground, is expected to move north and east to affect parts of the Midlands on Thursday afternoon and, although there remains some uncertainty in the amount of rainfall and timing, 10 to 20 mm may fall quite widely.

“As a result flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible from rivers.”

Despite the rainfall, the Met Office said temperatures will remain mild while a drier period of weather is expected at the start of next week.