The Met Office has issued multiple weather warnings over the weekend as Storm Ingrid descends upon the UK with heavy rain and lashing winds.
Two separate yellow weather warnings for rain are in place over the weekend for the south west of England, Wales, and parts of eastern Scotland.
The south west of England and Wales has been under a heavy rain warning since 2am on Friday, set to last until 10pm Saturday, as the Met Office warns Storm Ingrid (named by IPMA, the Portuguese Met Service), will slowly drift northwards over the Celtic Sea during Saturday.
Bands of frequent heavy showers revolving around its centre, merging into longer spells of rain at times. An additional 20-40 mm, and in a few exposed locations, 50 mm of rainfall is expected to fall.
Meanwhile, eastern parts of Scotland will see a further 20-30 mm of rain, and a few spots could see 50 mm, after three days of wet weather across the region, set to last until 9am on Sunday. Some places have already seen in excess of 100mm of rain.
Perth and Kinross Council said many roads in the region were closed due to flooding as of 6am on Friday, including the A94 between A93 Meikleour crossroads and A923 Bendochy crossroads, and the Queen’s Bridge in Perth.
Two people were rescued from a minibus on the B977 near Kintore at around 8.30am on Thursday, while another person was brought to safety from a car in a separate incident at around the same time near Banchory.
Across the south west of England and Wales, gusts of 45 to 50mph battered the inland, with winds peaking during Friday evening before gradually easing overnight into Saturday morning.
The Environment Agency has issued 30 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, and 152 flood alerts, where flooding is possible. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued 11 flood warnings and four flood alerts. Three alerts are in place across Wales, according to Natural Resources Wales.
Met Office Chief Forecaster, Andy Page, said: “Unsettled weather continues for many across the UK with persistent and heavy rain in parts of Scotland with snow over higher ground, and strong winds and heavy rain in southwestern England and southern Wales. Elsewhere while it’ll be a breezy weekend there will be brighter and drier spells with occasional showers passing through fairly quickly.”
The areas affected are:
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Dorset
- Plymouth
- Somerset
- Torbay
- Blaenau Gwent
- Bridgend
- Caerphilly
- Cardiff
- Carmarthenshire
- Ceredigion
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Monmouthshire
- Neath Port Talbot
- Newport
- Pembrokeshire
- Powys
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Swansea
- Torfaen
- Vale of Glamorgan
- Angus
- Perth and Kinross
- Aberdeen
- Aberdeenshire
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