Cars covered by flood water as parts of UK deluged – and there’s more to come

A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued by the Met Office, after half a month’s worth of rain fell in 24 hours.

The Met Office has a warning covering the west of England and Wales for Tuesday, and said there is a “small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly”.

Forecasters added there could be “damage to some buildings from floodwater” and the “chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services”.

The environment agency had one flood warning, meaning flooding is expected, in place on Monday night.

Seven flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, were also in place.

Roads and rail lines have been flooded across the Midlands and north west of England with homes evacuated in Leicestershire.

The Environment Agency tweeted on Monday: “Be careful on your commute and don’t drive through flood water.”

The yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued across much of the South West and Wales.

Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson said parts of the South West and Wales will see heavy rain with between 30mm and 40mm expected to fall.

The average rainfall for the region in July is 81mm, he added.

Mr Wilson said: “An area of low pressure will bring the risk of quite heavy, thundery showers into Tuesday.

“There’s definitely a risk of flooding.

“Thunderstorms are a concern – there could be as much as 30mm to 40mm of rain. That’s quite a lot of rain flowing in quite a short period of time.”

The Met Office also warned there could be disruption to trains and buses, and urged motorists to monitor driving conditions and road closures.

Parts of the North West saw 40mm to 50mm of rain in about 24 hours, with 52.2mm recorded between 11am on Saturday and 11am on Sunday at Greenfield near Oldham, according to forecasters.

The monthly average rainfall for the North West in July is 89.5mm.

Rochdale in Greater Manchester saw 100mm of rainfall – more than a month’s worth – in 48 hours, according to the Met Office.

The cellars of a number of properties in the town centre were reported to have been flooded, while the fire service attended homes in Turf Hill Road and properties in the nearby town of Littleborough were also affected, Rochdale Council said.

Large areas of the UK were hit with thunderstorms last week during a heatwave which saw record-breaking temperatures.

Last Thursday may have been the hottest UK day on record, peaking at 38.7C (101.66F) in Cambridge – although meteorologists say this is only a provisional figure,

(c) Sky News 2019: Cars covered by flood water as parts of UK deluged – and there’s more to come