Thunderstorms Could Bring More Flooding To The Midlands

29 July 2019, 12:31

Thunderstorms are expected to hit parts of the UK with a risk of more flooding following a weekend of heavy rain, forecasters have warned.

More than 20 flood warnings - meaning immediate action is required - were in place across the Midlands and North West on Monday morning, the Environment Agency said.

Rochdale in Greater Manchester saw 100mm of rainfall - more than a month's worth - in 48 hours, according to the Met Office.

The cellars of a number of properties in the town centre were reported to have been flooded, while the fire service attended homes in Turf Hill Road and properties in the nearby town of Littleborough were also affected, Rochdale Council said.

The Environment Agency tweeted: "Be careful on your commute and don't drive through flood water."

Heavy rain also caused flooding on the railway line, disrupting journeys between Rochdale and Todmorden in West Yorkshire on Sunday night.

Forecasters said while the heavy rain will clear on Monday, a second band of low pressure will hit the country on Tuesday.

Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson said parts of the South West and Wales will see heavy downpours and could get between 30mm and 40mm of rain.

The average rainfall for the region in July is 81mm, he added.

Mr Wilson said: "An area of low pressure will bring the risk of quite heavy thundery showers into Tuesday.

"There's definitely a risk of flooding.

"Thunderstorms are a concern - there could be as much as 30mm to 40mm of rain. That's quite a lot of rain flowing in quite a short period of time."

The Met Office also warned there could be delays and cancellations to trains and buses as well as difficult driving conditions and road closures due to the storms.

The new warning follows a weekend of heavy downpours with half a month's worth of rain falling across parts of the UK leading to travel disruption and floods.

The Met office said that the monthly average rainfall for the North West in July was 89.5mm.

Cars make their way through standing water on the A47 near Peterborough Parts of the North West were hit with floods with cars left almost fully submerged.

The wet weather comes after a week in which Britain was hit by hot temperatures and thunderstorms, with the heatwave causing problems for train and air passengers.