UK weather live: Flooding chaos as roads and schools shut with Met Office warning of more heavy rain tonight
Some schools across England have been forced to closed following flooding
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Floods have caused travel chaos across the country with roads and schools closed after extreme rainfall overnight on Sunday with more expected tonight.
The autumn equinox on Sunday coincided with heavy downpours, as the Met Office warned that “heavy rain is expected to produce some flooding” with an amber and yellow weather warning in place across most of England and Wales, except the most western and northern regions.
Schools up and down the country are closed today with some staying shut tomorrow too. The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain from 05:00 BST until 23:59 on Monday across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. A more severe amber warning covers Gloucestershire, London, Northamptonshire, the East of England and Oxfordshire until 21:00.
The A421 in Bedfordshire is closed in both directions between A6 and M1 J13 due to flooding. Also, the A505 in Hitchin, Elton Way in Watford and the A404 between Chorleywood and Rickmansworth were all shut this morning for the safety of road users, Hertfordshire County Council said.
Dan Harris, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office said that on Wednesday and Thursday “unsettled weather is set to return as further frontal systems move in from the Atlantic, bringing showers or longer spells of rain to many parts of the UK.”
Areas covered by amber rain warning
The following areas come under the amber warning for rain:
East Midlands
- Derby
- Derbyshire
- Leicester
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Northamptonshire
- Nottingham
- Nottinghamshire
- Rutland
East of England
- Cambridgeshire
- Peterborough
London & South East England
- Oxfordshire
South West England
- Gloucestershire
West Midlands
- Herefordshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telford and Wrekin
- Warwickshire
- West Midlands Conurbation
- Worcestershire
Yorkshire & Humber
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- Kingston upon Hull
- North East Lincolnshire
- North Lincolnshire
- South Yorkshire
Lightning
Jenna Smith captured this stunning picture of lightning above houses in Northamptonshire on Sunday.
‘Stay clear of flooded roads'
Late on Sunday night, Bedfordshire Police posted a statement, saying: “We are aware of the multiple issues the weather is causing across the county tonight. Please only call us if there is an immediate threat to life or crime in progress.
“All emergency services and council teams are working as quickly as possible to help those affected but our priority will be the vulnerable. Please stay clear of flooded roads and affected areas.”
Flood warnings
Currently, 13 flood warnings have been put in place for England by the Environment Agency.
Areas affected include Atherstone in Warwickshire, Leighton Buzzard and Luton in Bedfordshire and parts of London including Wimbledon and South Ruislip.
Warnings of rain and flooding
Good morning.
We’ll be bringing the latest updates on heavy rain across the UK on Monday, which is expected to cause extensive travel disruption.
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