Heavy rain causes Christmas travel woes

A vehicle makes its way through flood water on Calmore Road in Totton, Hampshire Credit: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

London

There are weather warnings for the London area, mostly to the west, for heavy rain until tomorrow

This nasty spell of weather remains with us until Christmas Eve as rain comes and goes across the London region, causing problems on roads and for Christmas travellers.

The rest of the weekend

For the rest of Saturday, expect more rain, heavy at times. The roads have a lot of surface water on them, and accompanied by strong winds this will add to the risks of poor visibility and tricky driving conditions.

The rain will become lighter with less frequent bursts overnight, although the wind will maintain its strength, keeping temperatures up. Sunday morning begins as Saturday ends, wet with outbreaks of rain. The rain will be mostly light through the morning, but there is a risk of some heavier bursts later in the day.

Travel plans on Sunday across the UK

If you do have plans to leave the southeast and travel to other part of the UK, daylight hours will serve you better.

To the north of London it will be dry throughout the day. To the west of London, the rain will east to just spits and spots until later in the afternoon - although be aware there will be still be a lot of surface water on the roads, particularly aware from the major trunk routes. To the south of London there is always the risk of further rain, and the odd heavier burst can't be ruled out.

It's the far north of Scotland where the weather will remain nasty through Sunday.

Paul Robinson, dressed as father Christmas and Rebecca Palmer, from Hull, shopping Credit: Jonathan Pow/PA Wire

Sunday night

Another batch of rain will spread across from the southwest on Sunday evening, with the heaviest bursts reaching the London area after midnight. Again this will lead to localised flooding.

Christmas Eve

The rain should clear by dawn on Christmas Eve. However we are not out of the woods yet, as the cleared rain will connected to a weather front that trails to the southwest, so you may see pulses of rain through the day.

If you are planning to travel on Monday, do keep a close eye on the forecast. Currently the heaviest rain is across Wales, the northwest and southwest England, so routes heading north and west will be affected again.

Christmas Day

It's looking much better across the UK as a whole. Still the rain lingers in the south and west, but at least its light and patchy. For the London area, expect a few bursts of showery rain. More significantly it will feel a lot colder as temperatures struggle to 8C.

Boxing Day

Some rain overnight with clear through the day on Boxing Day. So the evening should clear up and leave a dry night. Again if you are travelling across the country, it's worth noting that the main hazards on Boxing Day night into the 27th will be fog, with an increasing risk of frost in the north.