Storm Claudia: month’s worth of rain in a day possible
There are amber warnings for “persistent and heavy” rain
Storm Claudia could bring up to a month’s worth of rain in a day as heavy downpours batter parts of England and Wales.
Amber warnings for “persistent and heavy” rain come into force from noon on Friday until midnight and cover parts of Wales, the Midlands, the South West, the South East and east of England.
In England some places could have 80mm of rain, while part of Wales may be hit by 100-150mm on the higher ground, or 50-75mm generally across the region, the Met Office warning says.
All of this may be exacerbated by strong easterly winds, as well as thunderstorms later on Friday, the forecaster adds.
Storm Claudia, named by the Spanish Meteorological Agency, has already brought heavy rain and strong winds to Spain and Portugal.
Met Office chief meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: “Storm Claudia will bring very heavy rainfall to a large swathe of central and southern England and Wales on Friday into Saturday.
“This rain will become slow moving, and some areas could see up to a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.
“Much of this will fall on saturated ground, increasing the chances of flooding and contributing to the amber warnings we have issued.”
A separate yellow warning for rain covers much of England, from Cheshire and North Yorkshire to the south coast, for a 24-hour period from 6am on Friday, and a warning for winds of up to 70mph in some western areas of the UK is in place from noon until midnight.
The Met Office said the weather may cause power cuts, travel disruption and damage to buildings.
Travellers are urged to be cautious as a large swathe of central and southern England and Wales on Friday into Saturday will be soaked.