No respite as Britain is braced for more wind and rain

12 April 2012

Flash floods were still causing chaos across the South-East today with many roads submerged.

Large swathes of the country suffered this week as more than half of August's average rainfall thrashed down in 24 hours.

Today forecasters warned there will be little respite with downpours set to continue through to the bank holiday weekend. The Met Office has already issued severe weather warnings for the North-East and the Yorkshire and Humber areas today.

A spokesman said: "On Friday there will be sunny spells and some showers but on Saturday rain is more likely."

Blustery winds are expected to cause more misery England and Wales. Gusts of up to 50mph are expected in some regions, adding to the school holiday gloom caused by recent heavy downpours.

Severe weather warnings remained in place for parts of Scotland. People in the Grampian and Central, Tayside and Fife regions were warned to take extra care on the roads, with 15mm of rain expected to fall during a three-hour deluge in the early hours of today, according to the Met Office.

Wales and the South-West are already subject to advisories warning of possible heavy rainfall, and it is these regions that are expected to bear the brunt of today's gusts.

Claire Austin, forecaster with MeteoGroup, aid: "It is going to be quite breezy today. We are expecting gusts of up to 40mph across England and Wales, perhaps even as high as 50mph.

"Rain will remain across Scotland. There will be some heavy bursts, but that isn't unusual."

The winds are due to die down by the evening but further gloom is just around the corner, with more heavy rain expected tomorrow.

"There are likely to be heavy downpours on Wednesday night," Ms Austin said.

Heavy rains since Sunday evening led to the Highways Agency warning drivers to take extra care on the roads.

Up to 4cm (1.5in) of rain fell in areas of southern England in just a few hours in the early hours of Monday morning - more than half the normal monthly total.

Thorney Island in Hampshire saw the worst of the stormy weather with nearly 4cm of rain - half falling between midnight and 1am - and gale force eight winds (40mph).

Among the roads affected was the A249 in Kent where flooding forced the northbound carriageway to be temporarily closed between the junctions with the M2 and the A250.

This week's unsettled picture is bad news for families holidaying in Britain in the final weeks of the school summer break, including Prime Minister David Cameron who is in Cornwall with his family this week.

Average August rainfall in southern England is between 6cm and 7cm.

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