Millions of Brits are being warned of more heavy rain and flooding for the weekend with parts of the country already underwater due to the deluge in recent days.
There are currently 20 flood warnings in place in England and Scotland and a further two in Wales with the whole of the UK set for a Halloween washout.
A clear-up was under way after localised floods hit Cumbria and southern Scotland, with dozens of rivers at risk of overflowing.
Two bridges were washed away, around 40 properties flooded, homes evacuated and roads and rail transport all disrupted following very heavy downpours on Thursday and into Friday.
The Environment Agency said in England there are now eight flood warnings and 51 flood alerts which are spread across parts of the north, south west and southern England.
There were 14 flood warnings and 11 alerts in Scotland.
Weather maps from WXCharts show a south western front of rain which has been pushing across the west coast of Britain overnight Friday and into Saturday.
In the past few days, 40 properties have been flooded in Cumbria while 1,450 properties have been protected across the county in part down to some of the new flood defences installed in areas like Cockermouth, the Environment Agency said.
Ben Lukey, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Flooding is devastating so whilst we are pleased 1,450 properties have been protected, our thoughts are with the 40 households who have suffered.
“The public need to stay on alert this weekend and into early next week as surface water and river flooding could still bring disruption in the south west as well as part of northern England.
“Environment Agency teams have been out on the ground clearing grilles and screens where flood debris can build up and impede river flows, and stand ready to operate flood defences if needed.
“Working with our partners in local resilience forums, we are supporting emergency response to keep people safe where flooding does occur.
“We are urging residents and visitors, especially holidaymakers in the Lake District and elsewhere, to stay alert and check their flood risk by signing up for free flood warnings on the Gov.uk website and via @EnvAgency on Twitter, which offer the latest updates.”
Cumbria County Council said around a dozen roads were closed, but staff had been working to assess routes and inspect bridge closures.
Farther north over the border, speed restrictions were imposed by Network Rail Scotland on the West Coast mainline on Friday after extreme rainfall.
By Friday evening, the speed restrictions were lifted and Avanti West Coast said the service was now back to normal – advising passengers to check before they travel and that a normal service is planned for the weekend.
An update from Network Rail Lancashire and Cumbria said services are now running as normal on the West Coast mainline from London Euston to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said 11 flood alerts and 14 flood warnings were in place, mainly centred on the Borders region.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for a huge area stretching from Manchester, across Lancashire and Cumbria and up to Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland, with heavy rain and some disruption possible due to flooding on Friday.
Another period of heavy rain is expected to affect central and south-west Scotland from early on Saturday, the Met Office said, with 10-20mm predicted to fall quite widely across the warning area, much of this falling in only a few hours, and onto already wet or saturated ground.
Heavier rainfall of 30-40mm is possible across parts of Dumfries and Galloway, mainly on the hills, but rain will clear away eastwards later in the morning.
Eight flood warnings (flooding is likely)...
- Keswick Campsite
- River Clyst from Broadclyst to Clyst St. Mary
- River Isle from Chard Reservoir to Hambridge
- River Leven at Newby Bridge and Backbarrow
- Rivers Cocker and Derwent at Cockermouth, Cricket Ground and Trout Hotel Car Park
Ullswater and River Eamont at Pooley Bridge, Ullswater Steamer Pier to B5320 Bridge
51 flood alerts (flooding is possible)....
- Barnstaple, Braunton, Ilfracombe and Combe Martin area
- Exmoor Rivers
- Helford and Fal Rivers
- Lower Exe
River Stour and Smestow Brook in the Black Country and South Staffordshire
UK forecast for the next 5 days
Today:
Early rain, heavy at times, over parts of England, Scotland and Wales slowly clears away eastwards. Sunny spells follow, but also some heavy showers, mainly in the south and west. Quite windy, especially in the east at first.
Tonight:
Chilly with clear spells for most this evening. Wet and windy weather with heavy rain and coastal gales then follows into western, southern and central UK during the early hours.
Sunday:
Early rain over parts of England, Scotland and Wales slowly clears away eastwards.
Sunny spells and showers follow into the south whilst further north rain returns later. Windy.
Outlook for Monday to Wednesday:
Sunshine and showers, some heavy, mainly around the coasts.
Often windy in north and west, lighter elsewhere. Temperatures a little below average.
