UK weather: Dozens of flood warnings in place as Britons brace for more showers

England, Northern Ireland and Scotland to receive heavy showers

Parts of the UK are expected to be lashed with more persistent rain on Thursday, with a cloudy and breezy morning elsewhere.

England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland will receive heavy rainfall as a band of cloud moves northwards, the Met Office said.

The Environment Agency issued up to 26 flood warnings and 140 potential flood alerts for Thursday amid reports that some parts of the country could receive more than 100mm of rain this week, double the average for the whole of March.

Those spared the worst of the rain will have cloudy and overcast weather, with a few sporadic showers throughout the afternoon.

The rainfall on Thursday will gradually clear and move towards the south as the day progresses. "Clearer spells to the north of this with the odd shower and localised frost," the Met Office said.

"These showers will turn heavy across Wales, the West Country moving in across central southern England as well as Midlands through the afternoon," said Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir.

“These winds would be fairly relentless through the afternoon, with further showery bursts through the Isle of Man as well as Northern Ireland," she added.

The eastern counties will be hit by rain by late afternoon on Thursday. Temperatures across England and Wales are expected to rise to 14C and 16C, while Northern Ireland would touch 10C.

Temperatures in Scotland would hover around 8C or 9C due to the cloud, spell of rain and the cold air filtering in from the north of Scotland towards the northwest.

"But it is a wet Thursday night for Scotland due to further showers moving in across England and Wales as well as Northern Ireland," Ms Nasir said.

The weekend also brings continued unsettled but mild weather across the UK, the forecast shows. Sunday will see rain clearing eastward, followed by showers, potentially heavy in the west.