UK weather: Risk of flooding as four days of Met Office warnings issued across country for heavy rain

Rain warnings are back in place in parts of the UK – kicking off four days of miserable weather as communities reel from the impact of Storm Babet.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for downpours in Scotland and Northern Ireland from midday on Friday, including areas hit by flooding last week.

In Scotland, it covers Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee, and Perth and Kinross.

It will last until at least 6pm on Saturday, and the Scottish Flood Forecast warned “significant flooding impacts” are likely across the next few days.

Heavy rain is set to fall on areas that already have high water levels and saturated ground due to Storm Babet.

Among the worst-hit areas braced for more rain is Brechin in Angus, where hundreds of homes had to be evacuated after the River South Esk burst its banks.

First Minister Humza Yousaf visited the town this week and pledged Scottish government funding, but warned: “It’s going to be a long road to recovery.”

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Warnings in place for England and Northern Ireland

A separate Met Office yellow warning also covers the east coast of Northern Ireland, including Ballycastle, Larne, Donaghadee, and Newcastle.

Come Saturday, another alert will extend to parts of southern and eastern England, with London, Kent, Sussex, and Essex all potentially experiencing disruption.

It is expected to remain until the end of Sunday, while the warning in Scotland will last into Monday – by then having extended south towards Stirling and Edinburgh.

The Met Office has said there is a small chance of power cuts to homes and businesses, as well as flooding, public transport disruption, and difficult driving conditions.

Sky News’s weather presenter Kirsty McCabe said low pressure would dominate this weekend, “bringing spells of strong winds and heavy rain that may exacerbate recent flooding and bring travel disruption”.

“Parts of eastern Scotland could get another 50 to 100mm of rain over the next few days, with as much as 150mm over the hills,” she added.

“This isn’t great news for those areas badly affected by Storm Babet last weekend, and there are still flood warnings in force.

“Elsewhere there will be heavy showers for eastern counties of Northern Ireland, southwest Wales and southeast England.

“Southern parts of England could have a very wet weekend as heavy and thundery showers merge into longer spells of rain along with gusty winds. This could prove particularly disruptive, with standing water and spray on some major roads.”

Railways braced for more disruption

Ahead of the rain’s return, ScotRail has already suspended some services.

There will be no direct trains running between the Central Belt and Aberdeen and Inverness until Sunday.

LNER has warned of delays between Edinburgh and Newcastle, while TransPennine Express and CrossCountry are operating reduced timetables.

Network Rail Scotland warned: “More extremely heavy rain is on the way.

“It won’t be to the levels of Storm Babet, but it will affect the same areas with saturated ground.

“It will bring a risk of flooding.”

Seven people are known to have died as a result of Storm Babet, including three in Scotland.