Today’s UK weather: Heavy rains inundate Britain, with roads submerged in water, threatening travel chaos
Hours of heavy rain lashed Britain overnight, and flooded roads threatened to cause travel chaos this morning.
The Met Office warned that wet weather could continue for several days, with a yellow thunderstorm warning issued for parts of the country.
This comes after meteorologists warned of a possible “danger to life” and placed an amber warning over parts of the country.
Hundreds of people across the UK woke up overnight as heavy rain fell.
Police warned this morning that A-roads across the country could be closed as a result of heavy rain.
Police in Leicestershire and Humberside asked motorists to be careful, saying they could face flooding during their morning commute.
Exeter Airport was also forced to close last night as a result of flooding, sparking chaos among travellers.
The airport said: “After the flash floods that occurred on Sunday afternoon, which caused the closure of the airport, our teams are working throughout the night on cleaning and we expect to open our doors tomorrow morning, Monday.”
“We advise passengers to check with their airlines for the latest information about their flight, and please bear with us as we do our best to return all airport operations to normal.”
The weather warning remained in effect until 8am today.
It runs from Scarborough, down to Nottingham, and sees the east coast and inland as far as Leeds submerged.
Meteorologists warned of the possibility of heavy rain, leading to the inundation of homes and businesses.
The Met Office said: “Thundershowers in the east have developed in a band of rain, already across the west, quickly pushing eastwards during the morning.
“The weather becomes more active with showers, sometimes heavy, after the afternoon. Winds are increasing.”
It warned that this evening will see rain, mostly along the western coasts, with the risk of storm surges.
Forecasters said the rest of the week was likely to remain “volatile”, with more warnings for wet weather and cold temperatures.
Devon and Somerset saw more than 4 inches (100mm) of rain in 24 hours, above the September average of 3.4 inches (87mm), the Met Office said yesterday.
The floods led to the closure of Exeter Airport and Paignton Zoo, both in Devon.
Trains were cancelled, roads turned into rivers and a policeman warned of “small lakes forming” on parts of the M5 motorway.
Hundreds of households lost their power supply and a lightning bolt brought down a bedroom ceiling when it struck a house in Totnes, Devon.
The citizen was slightly injured.
Homeowners used sandbags to hold up the water. One said: “The rain was biblical. It came so fast.”
Met Office expert Jonathan Vautrey said: “Some strong thunderstorms are developing.
“They will bring heavy rain with potential lightning and lightning.”
Unstable conditions are expected to continue throughout the week as Hurricane Lee approaches the end of the Atlantic Ocean.
“Next fall week could be a little unsettled,” Mr. Vautrey added.
