Snow and a ‘month’s worth of rain’ to hit parts of UK amid flood alerts

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning over parts of Scotland for Friday as “over a month’s rain” is expected to fall over 24 hours, with the Highlands likely to receive snow.

Areas near the coast could see gusts of around 50mph while parts of eastern of Scotland could see rainfall of up to 100mm across the hills of Angus and Aberdeenshire.

The weather service also said fast-flowing water and deep floodwater are likely to cause “danger to life”.

“The heaviest rain will gradually move north on Friday, with further warnings issued,” Matthew Lehnert, the Met Office’s chief meteorologist, said.

Two days of “persistent rain” in Scotland may result in snow falling in the highlands, the Met Office’s spokesperson Craig Snell said, although he added this is not unusual for November.

“If you want to take a walk in the hills in Scotland tomorrow you may come across snow but for the lower levels it is just going to be rain,” he said.

Motorists have also been warned to avoid the roads after cars were left submerged in flood water overnight.

The Environment Agency has issued 27 flood warnings and 104 flood alerts mostly across the south coast of England and urged motorists not to drive through flood water, warning that “just 30cm is enough to move a car”.

Some 20 cars were stuck in floods in West Sussex after the A27 was closed in both directions between Emsworth and Chichester because of the heavy rain overnight, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said.

The service posted on Twitter: “We are currently rescuing another driver whose car is stuck in deep water. Don’t risk it.

“Lots of roads are flooded this morning so use extra caution when travelling this morning.”

The M23 in Sussex has also been closed and rail services have been disrupted by flooding caused by heavy rain. National Highways said the motorway was closed between junctions 10 and 11, while Southern Rail said the line from Lewes to Haywards Heath was blocked.

A yellow rain warning covers a large area of the UK for the whole of Thursday, from 12am until 11.59pm, with forecasters warning there is a small chance of homes and businesses flooding, communities being temporarily cut off by flooded roads and disruptions to transport.

This covers an area stretching from Birmingham, Lincoln and Hull to north Wales, Liverpool and Manchester, as well as the east coast up to the Scottish border.

“The warning areas are where we are most concerned about the risk of flooding but it doesn’t mean that the areas outside them are not going to see some pretty atrocious conditions,” Mr Snell said.

The midlands and the north of England will have a “pretty miserable day” on Thursday after the rain sweeps in overnight, Mr Snell added. “The rain will be accompanied by a brisk wind so it’s not going to feel good.”

RAC breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis warned motorists to “exercise great care” during the wet weather.

“The chances of being involved in a collision rise dramatically in wet weather, and even more so if there’s snow, so it’s vital drivers slow down, leave plenty of space behind the vehicle in front and use their lights to make sure they’re easily seen by other road users,” he said.

“The risk of aquaplaning where a vehicle’s wheels lose contact with the road as they skim across standing water will be high, particularly for those who don’t slow down to appropriate speeds for the conditions.”