Parts of the UK are in for a drenching today, with yet more severe weather warnings issued for potential flooding.
Amber warnings are in place all day on Sunday for Cumbria and parts of South West Scotland, with yellow warnings covering swathes more of the England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Met Office has warned households across the UK to prepare ‘flood kits’ ahead of a weekend of torrential rain, which will last into Monday in several areas.
Travel has already been hit, with a major road between Durham and Cumbria closed to lorries and other high vehicles, while some rail routes will have speed restrictions today.
Weather warnings predict flooding and heavy rain that could cause travel chaos, as well as potential ‘threats to life’ from fast-flowing rivers.
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Residents in the worst-affected areas should consider using emergency kits – including bottled water, first aid kits and flood plans, the Met Office said.
Which areas will see the most rainfall?
Parts of the UK are expected to get up to 200mm of rainfall.
Residents in the below areas are being warned to brace for serious downpours.
Cumbria: The region around Carlisle could see a staggering 200mm over 48 hours, with an amber alert for intense downpours in place from 6am on Sunday through till 6pm Monday.
Northern Ireland: The whole country is under a yellow warning for rain today, with over 50 mm of rain possbile across higher ground.
Manchester and the North of England: The North of England could see over 100mm across higher ground with 50 to 70mm accumulations elsewhere from 6pm yesterday until 6pm on Monday.
Southwestern Scotland: Another amber warning is in place for the Lothian Borders and Strathclyde. Areas of the Southern Uplands could see 110-130 mm today alone.
Western Scotland: Parts of Western Scotland are also braced for 100mm of rainfall from around 6pm yesterday until Monday 9am.
Wales: A large portion of Wales, stretching from Llanrwst in the north and down past Machynlleth in the south, is set to see 100mm accumulate across higher ground. Expect the downpours from 6pm Sunday until 3pm Monday.
The washout will likely lead to power cuts, floodwater, and travel delays, the forecaster warned.
Cumbria is expected to be the worst-affected, where the Met Office said more than 200mm of rain ‘could accumulate in places during this 48-hour period’.
Weather warnings have also been issued for north Wales, north-westerly parts of England, western Scotland and Northern Ireland on Sunday.
The Met Office warned of possible threats to life from deep and fast-flowing rivers and ‘possible power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses’ following the expected rainfall.
The forecaster said some communities could be cut off by flooded roads.
Outbreaks of rain are also expected to affect Northern Ireland, including the capital Belfast today.
The Met Office said: ‘The rain will be heavy and persistent at times with accumulations of 20-30mm expected to develop widely. Over 50mm could accumulate across higher ground.’
Rain in Northern Ireland will clear by tomorrow morning, but other areas of the UK could still be getting a lashing, with some weather warnings still in place by Monday night.
Travel disruption today
ScotRail announced on X that ‘due to forecast heavy rain across Dumfries and Galloway, for safety reasons, services between Kilmarnock and Dumfries will not operate’ on Sunday.
Network Rail Scotland also announced that several rail lines, including Bridge of Allan-Perth, and services between Glasgow Central and Stranraer or Carlisle via Kilmarnock, would operate with speed restrictions from 6am on Sunday due to weather concerns.
The A66 in County Durham/Cumbria is closed in both directions to high sided vehicles between the A1M (Scotch Corner) and the M6 (Penrith) due to strong winds.
Elsewhere, the weekend weather will be notably different. The southern half of the UK will be dry and bright, with much lighter winds.
The Met Office said cloudless skies, patches of frost, mist and fog were expected in the south of England on Saturday morning.
Sunday will remain dry for many throughout the day. There will be more cloud followed by the band of rain slowly moving south-east through Sunday night and Monday.
Marco Petagna, meteorologist at the Met Office, said: ‘Really, it’s a very slow moving band (of rain). That’s why we’re going to see those high rainfall totals.
‘So the warnings are out quite widely across the sort of north-west of the UK, even down into Wales as well.
‘Over the next few days, we’re looking at 20mm to 70mm towards the north-west of the UK, so one to three inches of rain, fairly widely.
‘In those amber warning areas, we could see 200mm or more,’ Mr Petagna added.
‘So that’s eight inches or more – and yes, obviously, quite likely to give some flooding issues over the next few days.’
He added that the weather won’t be immediately clearing ahead of an idyllic White Christmas either, as ‘much of the UK will see some wet and windy weather later in the week, again.
‘But we need to keep an eye on that because there’s potential further warnings might be needed.
‘There is, heading towards Christmas, a hint that things could start to quieten down. But the next week to 10 days look pretty unsettled.’
Jonathan Day, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: ‘Significant surface water flooding impacts are possible in parts of the north of England on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
‘There are also possible significant river flooding impacts in parts of the north of England on Sunday and Monday, with minor flooding impacts possible more widely across northern England over the weekend.’
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