What to do in heavy rain

The next few days will see some heavy rain across the country resulting in possible disruption. Yellow alerts have been issued by the Met Office this week for many areas of the UK.

Met Office warnings and what they mean

If a yellow warnings is issued: Be aware.

During a yellow warning for rainfall there may be some minor traffic delays due to slower traffic and outdoor events may be disrupted or cancelled. There may be localised flooding of fields, car parks and recreational land.

When an amber warning is issued: Be prepared.

An amber warning indicates the need to be prepared for some disruption of daily routines and travel only if well prepared as the journey may take longer. Some flooding of homes, businesses and transport connections is possible. Utility services (gas, electricity and water) may also be affected and protecting property will be needed (for example moving possessions upstairs and using sandbags).

A red warning means action must be taken.

It is essential to follow advice from authorities under all circumstances and expect significant disruption. Only take journeys if absolutely essential and carry emergency food and clothing. Red warnings mean there could be widespread flooding of property and severe disruption to travel. There may be some loss of utilities (gas, electricity and water). There may be possible risk to life and the advice of the emergency services needs to be followed.

Check the latest forecast for your area on our severe weather page.

You can also sign up to our severe weather RSS feed or severe weather twitter account for your local area.

For more information on our severe weather warnings service, watch our video guide:

The Environment Agency’s Floodline 0845 988 1188 is available 24 hours a day for flood advice or you can see the latest flood warnings on our website.

For more detailed travel information check the Highways Agency’s website.

Guest blog: Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 1953 floods

Craig Woolhouse is Head of Flood Incident Management at the Environment Agency. He looks at how flood risk management has progressed since 1953 and how you can keep flood aware.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the 1953 floods where over 300 people died, 24,500 houses were damaged and over 30,000 people were evacuated. Outside the towns and villages, thousands of animals were drowned and great tracts of farmland were made infertile by salt water. This was one of the worst peace time calamities to hit Britain with Winston Churchill declaring it a “National Disaster”.

Those affected by the floods would have gone to bed without a flood warning and many of the flood defences today along the east coast, including London’s Thames Barrier, didn’t exist at all.

We’re lucky enough to have a lot more tools at our disposal to keep flood aware and safe these days. For example, you can join the 1.2 million people in England and Wales already signed up for free flood warnings. Where there was major loss of life in 1953, major flood defences have been built - for example Canvey Island, Jaywick, Felixstowe, Lincolnshire, Kings Lynn and Great Yarmouth. The Thames Barrier, celebrating its 30th birthday tomorrow as one of the world’s largest moveable defences, was also constructed as a result of the 1953 floods.

There have also been massive improvements in long range flood forecasting since 1953 like the joint Environment Agency and Met Office flood forecasting centre which provides 24/7 flood guidance to emergency services and local authorities.

We’re much better prepared than in 1953 but we cannot afford to be complacent. Despite the low probability, extreme floods like 1953 could strike at any time and we need to be prepared as a country and as communities for when these happen.

Visit the Environment Agency website to see what you can do to stay flood aware.

You can find out more about how weather and flood forecasting has improved on our website.

Recent rainfall totals

Rain has continued to cause disruption across parts of the UK, with overnight rain adding to significant totals over the past few days.

The wettest place in the UK (and Scotland) since the heavy rainfall began on 19^th December to 6am this morning has been Tyndrum in Perthshire, with 155.0 mm of rain.

Cardinham near Bodmin, Cornwall, is the wettest place in England with 128.8 mm of rain and the wettest place in Wales has been Mumbles Head, West Glamorgan, with 107.0 mm of rain.

Ballypatrick Forest in Antrim has been the wettest place in Northern Ireland, with 89.0 mm of rain.

Some areas have exceeded their full-month December average since the 19^th – such as Plymouth, Devon, which has seen 128.8mm of rain compared to a December average of 118.8 mm.

Below is a table of the wettest places in the UK from 0000 HRS on 19th December to 0600 HRS today, 24th December. The final column shows the monthly average for December, clearly showing some places have exceeded their monthly totals:

SITE NAME	AREA	PRECIP AMOUNT(mm)	DEC AVG(mm)
TYNDRUM	PERTHSHIRE	155.0	300.9
CARDINHAM	CORNWALL	128.8	155.1
PLYMOUTH	DEVON	127.4	118.8
LISCOMBE	SOMERSET	125.2	171.2
OKEHAMPTON	DEVON	115.0	184.2
MUMBLES HEAD	WEST GLAMORGAN	107.0	110.3
TREDEGAR	GWENT	102.2	169.0
CARDIFF, BUTE PARK	SOUTH GLAMORGAN	97.0	125.3
SENNYBRIDGE NO 2	POWYS	96.2	179.5
ST ATHAN	SOUTH GLAMORGAN	93.2	122.4
DYCE	ABERDEENSHIRE	92.4	76.1
CARTERHOUSE	ROXBURGHSHIRE	92.4	132.0
CRAIBSTONE	ABERDEENSHIRE	92.0	79.8
BALLYPATRICK FOREST	ANTRIM	89.0	133.9

There is more unsettled weather to come this week, so for the latest information keep up to date with our forecasts and warnings.

UK rainfall over the last eight days

After a dry start to the month, the last eight days have seen some very wet weather affect the UK, causing widespread flooding and disruption. So just how much rain has the UK seen and where has been wettest? The following maps show the full picture.

UK rainfall from 19-27 November 2012

The darkest blues on the map above show the areas that have seen the most rainfall, with South West England, Wales and parts of Northern England being particularly affected. How do these totals compare with the monthly average for November?

Eight day rainfall totals compared to whole November average

This map shows that areas from North East England through the Midlands to South West England have seen above average rainfall during the last eight days. However, parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland have seen very little.

As always, we have worked closely with the Environment Agency throughout the recent weather and have issued a series of accurate and useful forecasts and warnings which have helped emergency responders, county councils and members of the public stay informed about the latest developments.

Assistant Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, Paul Netherton, said: “I would like to formally thank and recognise the hard work of the Met Office over the past week. The information provided was invaluable and enabled the responders in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to prepare and respond effectively to assist our communities.”

For the rest of this week it looks as though there will be some respite from the rain with much drier conditions forecast. It will be colder though, with an increased risk of frost, fog and even ice towards as we head through the next few days.

24 – 25 November rainfall update

Overnight rainfall recorded at Met Office observing stations from 6pm Saturday 24 November to 8am Sunday 25 November:

Station	Amount
Fylingdales, North Yorkshire	36.6 mm
Pershore, Hereford & Worcester	32.6 mm
Sheffield, South Yorkshire	32.6 mm
Gingley-on-the-Hill	31.8 mm
Leek, Staffordshire	31.6 mm
High Mowthorpe, North Yorkshire	31.4 mm
Exeter Airport, Devon	31.2 mm
Dunkeswell, Devon	30.8 mm
Scarborough, North Yorkshire	30.6 mm
Normanby Hall, Humberside	30 mm

Below are the highest rainfall totals recorded at Met Office observing stations between midnight on Saturday and 8am this morning:

Station	Amount
St Mary’s Airport, Isles of Scilly	58.2 mm
Plymouth, Devon	56.8 mm
Cardinham, Cornwall	49.2 mm
Exeter Airport, Devon	48 mm
Dunkeswell, Devon	47.8 mm
Camborne, Cornwall	44.6 mm
Culdrose, Cornwall	41 mm
Pershore, Hereford & Worcester	40.6 mm
Astwood Bank, Hereford & Worcester	39.6 mm
Liscombe, Somerset	38.4 mm

 

Rainfall totals 24 November 2012

It has been another wet day across much of the southern half of the UK. Here are some rainfall totals between midnight and 9pm from Met Office reporting stations:

Station	Amount
St Mary’s Airport, Isles of Scilly	57 mm
Plymouth, Devon	49.2 mm
Camborne, Cornwall	42.8 mm
Culdrose, Cornwall	40 mm
Cardinham, Cornwall	39.2 mm
Exeter Airport, Devon	31.6 mm
Dunkeswell, Devon	27.6 mm
North Wyke, Devon	26 mm
Bournemouth Airport, Dorset	24 mm
Liscombe, Somerset	21.4 mm

There is more rain to come over the rest of the weekend and into the start of next week.

More heavy rain and gales on the way

As forecast, unsettled weather continues across the UK, with more heavy rain and strong winds expected to affect all areas over the next few days.

The Met Office, Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency are warning the public to be prepared for possible travel disruption and flooding as some areas see up to 60 mm on top of the rain that has fallen over the last few days.

Paul Gundersen, Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster, said: “The current unsettled spell of weather is set to continue with further spells of heavy rain expected across the country over the next few days.

“There has been some torrential rain and squally winds on Thursday as a cold front moved across the UK, but another deep depression developing off Iberia will head towards us for the weekend. This is expected to bring more heavy rain and strong to gale force winds to many parts of the country. We urge everyone to keep up to date with forecasts and warnings and be prepared for what the weather will bring.”

There is some uncertainty about exactly what track the low pressure will take at the weekend and so where the strongest winds will be. Currently we are forecasting the potential for gusts of 60 -70 mph for southeastern coastal counties of England overnight Saturday and into Sunday with the potential for storm force winds over the English Channel.

The public can keep up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings for their area on our website and with forecasts on TV and radio during this unsettled spell. You can also be #weatheraware by following us on Twitter @metoffice

Last night’s heavy rain

As forecast, heavy rain fell across parts of southern and southwestern Britain last night.

Here are some rainfall totals between midnight and 8am from Met Office reporting stations:

Station	Amount
Exeter Airport, Devon	39.2 mm
Dunkeswell, Devon	35.6 mm
Okehampton, Devon	33.8 mm
North Wyke, Devon	32.6 mm
Liscome, Somerset	23 mm
Pembrey Sands, Dyfed	22.8 mm
Mumbles Head, West Glamorgan	21.2 mm
Libanus, Powys	20.8 mm
Yeovilton, Somerset	20.4 mm
Cardiff, South Glamorgan	20.2 mm

More heavy rain, and strong to gale force winds are expected across the UK over the next few days.

Hurricane Sandy heads for the northeast USA

As many as 60 million people across 12 US states are thought to be in the path of Hurricane Sandy, which has been given the nickname “Frankenstorm”.

Hurricane Sandy is currently moving northward, parallel to the US East Coast, and is expected to make a turn towards the northeast US coast later on today. However, strong winds and stormy conditions are already being felt from North Carolina to New York.

Hurricane Sandy heads towards the northeast coast of the USA 29 October 2012

Sandy looks set to impact parts of the mid-Atlantic and north-eastern USA like last year’s ‘Halloween Nor’easter’ storm of 2011 and the ‘Perfect Storm’ of 1991. As Sandy approaches land the warm moist air circulating within the hurricane will meet cold air spreading south into the north-eastern USA from Canada. This provides the potential for the storm to develop further and produce severe winds, heavy rain, flooding and even snow on its north and west flanks as it hits land.

Uncertainties remain as to the precise location and timing of landfall. The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center takes Sandy over the Mid-Atlantic states, very close to Delaware and New Jersey, later on tonight or Tuesday morning. However, due to the large size of the storm (around 600 miles across), the impacts from Sandy will be widespread and not just limited to where the centre of the storm makes landfall.

Storm surge, combined with high tide, could cause extensive flooding to low lying areas, between 4 and 8 inches of rain could fall over portions of the northeast coast and 2 to 3 ft of snow is expected in the mountains of West Virginia.

Official National Hurricane Center forecast for Sandy on Monday 29 October 2012

This is the second time in two years that New York will have been impacted by a tropical system. Only last year Hurricane Irene travelled up the east coast of the US and made landfall with winds of 65 mph in Brooklyn, New York. However, Sandy could have a larger impact than Irene due to it’s larger size, stronger winds and greater storm surge.

Hurricane Sandy has already cut a swathe through the Caribbean, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and storm surge to Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and the Bahamas. At least 60 people have been killed, properties damaged and flooded, and large parts of Jamaica were left without power.

The National Hurricane Center and the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are providing warnings and advice to those who are potentially at risk from the storm. The Met Office routinely supplies predictions of hurricane tracks from its global forecast model to NHC which it uses along with guidance from other models in the production of its forecasts and guidance.

You can keep up to date with tropical cyclones around the world on our website or follow us on Twitter.

You can find out how tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, form in this video

How wet has this September been?

The latter part of September saw some exceptional rainfall in parts of the UK which caused disruption and flooding at times.

With such a great deal of rain falling in a short period of time, some people have asked whether it will make September one of the wettest in our national records going back to 1910.

Provisional early statistics up to 26 September show this isn’t the case, however, with the month looking set to be slightly wetter than average – but by no means a record breaker.

Up to the 26th, UK rainfall is 96.3 mm – which is 100% of the full month average. After 26 days we would, assuming rain falls fairly evenly through the month, expect this to be around 87%.

Of course, rain doesn’t always fall evenly throughout a month – as we saw this September. The first three weeks saw relatively little rain in many areas, but then a particularly active weather system brought four days of persistent heavy rain.

Northern parts of England were particularly badly affected by this, as you can see in the rainfall map below. In the map you can see a band of blue colours across northern England denoting above average rainfall for the month, whereas much of the country is coloured white to denote near-average amounts.

Two brown areas, one across central Scotland and the other in East Anglia, show it has been drier than average here – even despite the heavy rain in the latter part of the month.

 

Temperatures up to the 26 September are also fairly ordinary, being slightly below average. Mean temperature for the UK is 12.2 °C, which is 0.5 °C below the long-term average for the month.

While September looks set to be slightly wetter and cooler than average, the good news is sunshine hours were slightly up – with the UK having seen 126.1 hours of sunshine, 101% of its whole-month average.

Again, we’d expect it to be around 87% after 26 days, so we’re ahead – but not by a record-breaking amount.

So this September is set to go down as a fairly average month overall, but – as is often the case – this belies some very stark contrasts and some less-than-usual weather.

Met Office provisional 1-26 September figures

	mean temperature		sunshine duration		rainfall
	Actual	Difference from 1981-2010 average	Actual	% of 1981-2010 average	Actual	% of 1981-2010 average
	degC	degC	hours	%	mm	%
UK	12.2	-0.5	126.1	101	96.3	100
England	13.2	-0.5	145.2	106	80.6	116
Wales	12.1	-0.8	124.5	97	115.3	99
Scotland	10.4	-0.5	98.6	94	117.2	86
N Ireland	11.8	-0.5	105.3	93	94.0	103
England & Wales	13.1	-0.5	142.3	105	85.4	112
England N	12.4	-0.4	124.0	98	121.4	150
England S	13.7	-0.5	156.4	110	59.0	93