More than 140 flood warnings issued across Britain amid ‘persistent heavy rain’

Flood warnings are in place across much of the UK as heavy rain sweeps across the country.

The Met Office has issued three yellow warnings for "persistent heavy rain" throughout the day, covering much of Wales and north-west England.

Two yellow rain warnings – one stretching from Cardiff to Bangor and another covering Lancashire and southern Cumbria – will remain in place until 8pm.

A third yellow rain warning over western Wales is in place until 10am.

Across the Midlands 3 flood alerts have been issued and a flood warning is in place for the River Severn.The Met Office said "some disruption" is expected in these areas, including "flooding of a few homes and businesses", "spray" on the roads, increased journey times on public transport, and "possible" power cuts.

Meteorologist Alex Deakin described the overall forecast for Tuesday as "a rather dull and damp affair" featuring "gusty winds".

But he added that it will be "milder than Monday", with temperatures in the double digits for much of the UK.

Temperatures are expected to reach 13C (55.4F) in Cardiff and Belfast, 12C (53.6F) in London, and 11C (51.8F) in Edinburgh.

More than 140 flood warnings have also been issued across Britain by environment regulators, because saturated ground caused by recent wet weather means that even areas which avoid the worst of Tuesday’s deluge could be at risk of flooding.

The Environment Agency, which covers England, has issued 29 warnings, mostly clustered in Dorset where flooding is “expected”, along with 90 alerts across the country, where flooding is “possible”.

Natural Resources Wales has issued 20 flood alerts across the same areas covered by the Met Office warnings.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has issue five flood alerts across south-west Scotland, covering Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire and Arran, Central Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway, and West Central Scotland.

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