Fresh weather and flood alerts in place as wet and windy weekend continues

Fresh weather warnings have been issued as storm Fergus, the second named storm of the weekend, is set to arrive in western areas later.

Storm Fergus – named by the Irish meteorological service, Met Eireann – could produce 30 to 40mm of rain, along with a risk of hail and thunder, the Met Office said.

The strongest winds are likely to hit south Wales and areas around the Bristol Channel, with a possibility of localised gales.

Eight flood alerts for Wales have been issued by Natural Resources Wales, covering the western Cleddau, rivers Taf and Cynin, south Pembrokeshire, the river Dee from Llangollen to Trevalyn Meadows, the lower Dee catchment, the rivers Wye and lower Severn in Powys and the Vyrnwy catchment.

Elin

On Saturday, Storm Elin, also named by the Irish Meteorological Service, brought some strong winds and rain to parts of the UK, with a provisional peak gust of 81mph recorded at Capel Curig.

The bad weather could cause delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport and coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities may be affected by spray and large waves, the forecaster said.

☔ The wet and windy weather continues through Monday and Tuesday, before a drier interlude mid-week

🌦️ A north-south split across the UK later in the week, with high pressure to the south and low pressure to the north pic.twitter.com/6XKipYr2rG

— Met Office (@metoffice) December 10, 2023

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: “There will be some further spells of heavy rain, particularly in Wales and the north of England.

“In these areas the ground is already very saturated which makes flooding possible.

“There could be strong localised gales, especially in south Wales.”

Gusts

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Andy Page said: “Storm Fergus will conclude what has been an unsettled weekend of weather for the UK.

“Fergus will bring some strong winds and heavy rain for a time late on Sunday and into the early hours of Monday morning.

“While the strongest gusts are expected in the Republic of Ireland, Storm Fergus will bring some windy conditions to western areas, including Irish Sea coasts, while also bringing some potentially impactful rain.

“The rain has potential to be disruptive in parts of northern England and parts of Scotland, especially where it’s falling on very saturated ground.”

Storm Fergus will weaken as it moves to the east in the early hours of Monday morning, but the unsettled weather will likely continue from Tuesday.