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UK weather: ‘Danger to life’ warning issued as heavy rain and snow due to hit on Thursday

North of England particularly at risk after suffering devastating floods

Matt Drake
Monday 11 November 2019 16:39 GMT
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UK weather: The latest Met Office forecast

Forecasters are predicting a deluge of rain will cover swathes of England and Wales, with a “danger to life” weather warning in place and snowfall expected on Thursday.

Two weather warnings are in place for Thursday, with one stretching from Kent to Newcastle, and west to Cardiff.

Another includes a warning of “danger to life” which covers South Yorkshire, north Nottinghamshire and north Lincolnshire.

The Met Office highlighted this area as being of particular risk because it has already seen devastating flooding – particularly in South Yorkshire.

Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the Met Office, told The Independent: “The weather warning around Lincoln is due to the fact there is going to be particularly heavy rain in an area that has already been impacted by a lot of rain. Even small amounts of rainfall can have a high impact.

“Thursday will see rainfall from Kent to Newcastle and this reflects a weather front which is going to bring wintry weather in hilly areas, especially the Cotswolds and Brecon Beacons in Wales.

“This weather could also see rain turn into snow, including in the Midlands. But due to the ground being fairly warm from the summer it is unlikely that it will set.

“However this can still cause problems, particularly if you are driving through it.”

The RAF was called to flooded South Yorkshire to reinforce flood defences, with a Chinook helicopter flying in bags of aggregate to bolster flood banks in Doncaster on Sunday evening.

RAF Odiham posted photos of the operation on Twitter, adding: “We’ve asked for military support to move aggregate to the #BentleyIngs area.

“This doesn’t represent a further risk. The aggregate is being used to add further strength to a #flood defence in the area.”

About 700 residents of Fishlake, near Doncaster, were told to evacuate at the weekend after the River Don burst its banks leaving the village cut off.

On Sunday, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, said he was in “awe” of the resilience of flood-hit communities, but said the flooding was not a “national emergency”.

Responding on Twitter, Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said: “Boris Johnson is wrong. This is a national emergency.”

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