Amber rain warnings issued for parts of Wales

An amber weather warning for heavy rain has been issued for parts of south and south-west Wales, with the Met Office warning of a potential “danger to life” as flooding becomes increasingly likely.

The amber alert will come into force at 3am on Monday 15 December and remain in place for 18 hours, covering Bridgend, Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Swansea.

Forecasters say 50 to 80mm of rain is widely expected, with some locations seeing close to 100mm fall in a short period.

The warning comes after weeks of wet weather have left ground conditions saturated, significantly increasing the risk of surface water and river flooding, as well as travel disruption.

Alongside the amber alert, yellow weather warnings for rain and wind are in place for much of the rest of Wales.

North Wales is covered by yellow warnings from 6pm on Sunday until 3pm on Monday, while a separate yellow rain warning runs throughout Monday for large parts of south and mid Wales, including Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan, Ceredigion, Powys, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent.

Despite the heightened weather warnings, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has issued three live flood alerts as of Sunday afternoon.

These cover the Rivers Gwendraeths in Carmarthenshire, the Glaslyn and Dwyryd catchment in Gwynedd, and South Pembrokeshire. NRW said river levels will be closely monitored as the rain arrives.

The Met Office has warned that flooding of homes and businesses, difficult driving conditions and delays to public transport are possible, particularly in areas already prone to flooding.

People are being urged to plan journeys carefully and avoid driving through floodwater.

North-west Wales

While the worst conditions are expected in south and south-west Wales, the unsettled weather system is also affecting north-west Wales.

Other parts of the UK are also facing heavy rain. Amber warnings remain in place for parts of Cumbria, where communities have been warned they could be cut off by deep floodwater, while yellow warnings cover northern England, north-west Wales, Scotland’s west coast and Northern Ireland.

The Met Office said there is a small but real chance of fast-flowing or deep floodwater posing a risk to life.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “In parts of Cumbria and south and west Wales we could see another 100mm of rain falling in the next 24 hours or so, and that’s falling on saturated ground.

“We’ve had a very wet November and start to December. So, travel disruption, flooding, and possible flooding of businesses and homes over the next day or two could be quite significant.

“It’s worth paying close attention to the latest situation both on the Met Office website, and also if you have travel plans over the next few hours and few days to come.”