The UK Met Office have issued an “Amber” be prepared warning as a deluge of heavy rainfall is expected to hit much of Central & Northern England & Wales on Tuesday & Wednesday. Up to 200m (8″) of rain could fall locally over the Yorkshire Dales & hills of Cumbria, as well as North Wales. This means that there is a very high risk of flooding, which could locally be severe. The Met Office states:
Heavy rainfall combined with some snowmelt across the hills is likely to lead to flooding.
What to expect
- Homes and businesses are likely to be flooded, causing damage to some buildings
- Fast flowing or deep floodwater is likely, causing danger to life
- Delays and some cancellations to train and bus services are likely
- Spray and flooding probably leading to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
- A good chance some communities cut off by flooded roads
- Power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses likely
The ground is already extremely saturated following recent heavy rainfall. The following image from the WRF weather model shows the expected rainfall accumulations between now and Thursday. The purple colours in the North indicate between 100 and 150mm of rainfall. All this rainfall is likely to channel into lower lying & populated valleys producing a very high risk of flooding.
In addition, a major incident has now been declared, the UK equivalent of a U.S. state of emergency.
A major incident has been declared at a South Yorkshire Level in preparation for potential flooding over the next few days.
Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones Tweeted to say that key risk areas have been inspected and that sand-bags have been handed out in high-risk communities. pic.twitter.com/oa2ABVTiUV
— ITV News Calendar (@itvcalendar) January 18, 2021