Travel News | "Travel alert as more rain forecast"

By: Press Release
Source: http://www.google.com
Category: Travel News

Motorists have been warned to watch out as further heavy rain is expected across England and Wales with the wet weather set to continue for the next week.The Environment Agency said five flood warnings remained in place in south-west England where some areas saw up to 50mm of rain (2in) on Wednesday. More than 40 flood alerts were also in place across the rest of the country.

Paul Mott, forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, warned of localised flooding. He said: "It's going to be another rainy day, although London and the South East are slightly better off. There'll be one or two showers in the morning but it will be better by the afternoon."

He continued: "Otherwise elsewhere across the country it will be mostly unsettled with heavy rain and showers at times. There is already quite a lot of surface water on the roads, particularly in the Midlands, Yorkshire and north-east England so there will be lots of spray."

Temperatures are likely to reach a high of 15C in the south east and 14C across the rest of England and Wales, but could drop down to zero in parts of Scotland, he said.Mr Mott said the rain would continue into the evening. He added: "It's going to stay unsettled over the next seven days with frequent showers and persistent rain. Sunday looks to be a washout with up to an inch of rain falling across England and Wales."

The Met Office also warned of "heavy showers" but said they would quickly blow through due to strong, blustery winds.

On Wednesday, strong gusts of wind brought down scaffolding and seriously damaged at least four cars on Southsea seafront in Hampshire. No one was injured when the structure fell at the Royal Beach Hotel.

The Environment Agency has previously warned that the drought gripping swathes of England could increase the risk of flash flooding as rain is less easily absorbed by dry, compacted soils, instead running off and causing localised floods. And while the rain may be welcome for gardeners and farmers in drought-affected areas, the downpours are not enough to alleviate the drought that stems from two unusually dry winters in a row.

Richard Aylard, from Thames Water, one of seven companies which have brought in hosepipe bans in response to the drought, said "a couple of wet weeks" was not enough to reverse record dry conditions seen in the region in the past two years.

Source:  http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iWA9cx5gUBpnwUZRzAKUfI6fT3ww?docId=N0550001335413802920A