Flood warnings issued for Devon, Cornwall, Wales and Yorkshire

Heavy rain, high winds and flash floods expected as agency issues alerts for south-west, Welsh rivers and Yorkshire coast South-west England and Wales have been warned of the risk of flash floods as heavy rain is driven in from the Atlantic by strong winds. The weather front has led to 14 flood alerts in Cornwall and Devon and one in Wales , as well as one covering a stretch of the Yorkshire coast at Bridlington where high tides and winds are expected to combine. The warnings end a brief mild spell after last week’s cold snap, although temperatures are not expected to fall significantly. Matt Dobson, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, said the main feature would be “persistent and heavy” rain. There was widespread flooding in Northern Ireland, with homes in south Belfast and Co Antrim damaged in the deluge. Cars had to be towed out of deep water on the Moira Road outside Belfast, and there was also heavy flooding in the Glenavy area. Oliver McMullan, who represents the East Antrim area, said the Cranny river had overflowed in the seaside village of Carnlough. The alerts posted by the Environment Agency for Cornwall and Devon affect the rivers Fal, Fowey, Helford, Looe, Lynher, Par, Plym, St Austell, Seaton, Tamar, Tavy, Torey brook, Walkham and Yealm as well as streams and small watercourses throughout south and west Cornwall. There is also an alert along the south Devon coast at Beesands, Torcross, Slapton and Dawlish. The Welsh alert covers streams in the catchments of the rivers Taf and Cynin and is expected to widen as the day goes on. The Yorkshire alert stretches from Barmston to Bridlington, with problems most likely around the resort’s north pier. The agency’s alerts describe the risk as low but warn that “there may be some flooding of properties and disruption to travel”, especially in Cornwall and Devon. The risk for the rest of the week is rated very low throughout the country, although the wet weather is forecast to move north. Dobson said: “There could be some local torrential bursts of rain but mostly it will just be very persistent rain. There could be over an inch of rain by the end of Monday.” The Met Office has also issued severe weather warnings for south-west England and the West Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland. It said 30-60mm of rain were expected, with bands of torrential rain raising this to 100mm in some places. “Periods of heavy rain, accompanied at times by strong winds, will affect parts of western Britain during Monday,” a spokesman said. “The public should be aware that quantities of rain may be sufficient in a few places to disrupt travel and give rise to localised flooding. In Northern Ireland the heaviest rain is expected to arrive later in the day.” The rain will ease off during Tuesday but unsettled conditions are expected to persist all week and over the weekend, with ground frost in places across the country forecast for Friday night. Weather Northern Ireland Flooding Martin Wainwright Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 24, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.