Warning of further heavy rain after flash flooding in Herefordshire

Roads closed and a number of streets submerged

Author: Gavin RutterPublished 21st Sep 2024

Heavy rain has caused flash flooding in parts of Herefordshire, with warnings of more bad weather on the way.

Some streets were submerged yesterday, with a number of roads closed.

Flooding also caused disruption on public transport, with rail serviced passing through Ledbury forced to run at reduced speeds.

Meanwhile, the Environment confirmed a flood alert for the River Leadon catchment remained in force this morning, with areas affected including Ledbury, Much Marcle, Staunton and Tibberton.

A weather warning for thunderstorms and heavy showers remains in force this morning across much of southern England and Wales.

The Met Office says damage to buildings as a result of lightning strikes, disruption to public transport and flooding should be expected within the affected areas.

The yellow warning, which covers all of Wales and southwest England, the Midlands and parts of southeast and northern England, came into effect at 1am and lasts until midnight on Sunday.

Another weather warning for rain will come into force on Sunday for Wales and central south-west England.

Affected areas could see between 50mm and 70mm of rainfall over a few hours, accompanied by hail and frequent lightning.

The stormy weather follows a warm, dry spell as temperatures reached 25C in Inverness on Wednesday while southeast England saw the same high on Thursday, according to the forecaster.

The Met Office's chief meteorologist Jason Kelly said: "The warnings cover the areas of the country most at risk of seeing thunderstorms but not everyone within a warning area will experience a thunderstorm. For many much of the time it will remain dry."

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris said the wet weather is expected to continue into next week, with the forecaster weighing issuing another warning for Monday.

"The area of persistent and at times heavy rain that we are expecting to have developed by the end of Sunday will most likely continue for some parts of southern UK through at least the first part of Monday, before starting to clear eastwards," he said.

"By this time, however, confidence falls sharply in terms of both its exact location and rainfall amounts."

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