Severe weather shows no sign of slowing with warnings in place for snow and rain on Monday
Continued severe weather across the UK is showing no sign of relenting, with a range of warnings for rain, snow and ice in place for Monday.
The extremely unsettled period will be prolonged with rain at the start of the week, before colder, windier showers move in toward the end of the week.
While the extreme weather should settle down over Tuesday and Wednesday, the Met Office said further heavy rain is expected by Thursday.
Flood-hit communities were bracing themselves on Sunday as further bands of torrential rain began sweeping across Britain with no end in sight to the winter storms.
Politicians in south Wales appealed directly to the Chancellor for help following the devastating floods caused by Storm Dennis which have left businesses in the region "submerged".
In a letter to Rishi Sunak, the group including four MPs described flooding in the Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) area as "a national emergency on our doorsteps".
More than 600 households and a similar number of businesses have been hit by heavy floods - almost 25% of all properties affected across the UK.
The bleak outlook follows more than a fortnight of downpours and flooding that started with Storm Ciara, continued with Storm Dennis and then kept going with the storms over the weekend, which – contrary to some reports – have not been named by the Met Office.
On Sunday morning, the number of flood warnings in force in England increased to 86 - spanning an area from Dorset to Carlisle - along with 183 flood alerts.
In Wales, the number of flood warnings in force increased to 19 on Sunday - mostly in the south-east - with 27 alerts.
However by Sunday evening no severe weather warnings remained in force.
Warnings are however in place for Monday morning, with an area of low pressure expected to bring severe weather in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Met Office chief forecaster Dan Suri said: "This low-pressure system will bring a lot of moisture into contact with the relatively cold air across the northern half of the UK.
"This brings wintry conditions to an extending from East Yorkshire to North Lancashire across into Northern Ireland and northwards Scotland.
"For some, snowfall could coincide with the Monday rush hour, bringing additional complications.”
Environment Secretary George Eustice defended Prime Minister Boris Johnson for defying calls to visit flood-stricken areas.
He told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "It's not true that the Prime Minister's not been engaged in this."
Mr Eustice said: "In a cabinet Government it's not a one-man show, it's right that on certain operational things such as this that the Prime Minister will ask one of his Cabinet members to lead, I can't see anything wrong with that."
A yellow weather warning for heavy rain has been issued for 3am to 3pm on Monday for the north of England.
There is also a yellow warning for snow covering much of central and southern Scotland on Monday.
In Northern Ireland there is a yellow warning in place for rain and snow.
Forecasters said snow could also fall on higher ground in northernmost areas of England.
Earlier on Sunday Mr Suri said: “A relatively deep area of low-pressure system on Monday provides a continuation of the extremely unsettled period the UK has endured.
“Despite reports to the contrary, this system hasn’t been named, and there is no plan to do so currently, despite some speculation on social media.
“With further rain in the forecast over the coming days, additional rainfall could create further challenges as river catchments are more likely to respond to extra rainfall more quickly.
“Flooding, especially in areas already heavily affected, remains a possibility.”
Scott Squires, duty tactical manager for Natural Resources Wales, said: “As the floodwaters recede and communities start to get back on their feet, we’ll continue to support local authorities and emergency service in these affected areas.
“Over the coming days our teams will be checking for any signs of damage to our flood defences, and removing blockages and debris which has built up in culverts and drainage grids etc.”
There was further flooding on Friday night and Saturday morning on the southern edge of the Yorkshire Dales.
The village of Horton-in-Ribblesdale was cut off by rising water and there were road closures and further flooding along the Otley-Ilkley-Skipton corridor, north of Bradford.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said they had to rescue four people from a stranded car in Skipton and two horses stuck in floodwater nearby.