Rain and wind bring another day of disruption

Parts of Wales are facing another day of disruption and flood threats as more rain and wind sweep across the country.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning of spells of rain which could lead to localised flooding covering south and west Wales until 9pm on Tuesday.

While Natural Resources Wales has removed a series of flood warnings, Libanus in the Banna Brycheiniog National Park saw 34.6mm of rain on Monday and nine flood alerts remain in place.

Another yellow alert for rain covering parts of southern England runs until 10am on Tuesday, warning of heavy rain, possible thunderstorms and flooding, while a yellow wind alert for southern England and parts of Wales is in force until 6am on Tuesday.

Gradual improvement

Gusts of 84mph and almost 60mm of rainfall hits parts of southern England on Monday.

The Environment Agency had 37 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, in place in the south of England and the Midlands on Tuesday morning. A further 171 alerts, where flooding is possible, were in place across England.

The bad weather is linked to Storm Herminia, a low-pressure system named by meteorologists in Spain, which was expected to feel the strongest winds.

Somerset Council said a major incident in the region, jointly declared with the police and other agencies, would be maintained until further notice with more rain forecast on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Somerton Fire Station said 61 people were rescued from flooded properties, including a mobile home site in Charlton Adam, and temporarily relocated to Edgar Community Hall.

National Highways said one lane of the A303 was closed westbound near Yeovil because of flooding on Tuesday morning, while an eastbound lane was closed near Mere in Wiltshire while work continues to clear water.

Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said the rain warnings are suggesting further flooding is possible until Tuesday evening.

He said: “The trend over the next few days is for things to gradually improve a bit.

“These warnings for rain are suggesting further flooding is quite possible, especially within the warning area.”

After a day of sunshine and showers on Tuesday, heaviest with the chance of hail and thunder in the south, the Met Office said rain is expected to ease overnight bar some heavy patches in the north of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Mr Petagna said Wednesday and Thursday will be mostly fine, but with a small chance, the far south of England could see some outbreaks of rain.

Around 50,000 customers remained without electricity across Northern Ireland on Monday evening after Storm Eowyn hit at the weekend, according to Northern Ireland Electricity Networks.

Scottish and Southern Electricity said it had restored power to 90,000 customers affected by Storm Eowyn and was working to reconnect a further 1,700.

Director of customer operations for the north of Scotland Andy Smith said: “This storm has been the most destructive for parts of our network in many years and rebuilding damaged overhead lines has been a huge task.”