Met Office issues urgent 'danger to life' weather warning as 'floods' set to cause chaos

The Met Office has issued an urgent weather warning for five UK regions, with parts of the UK being warned that fast flowing or deep floodwater could cause a "danger to life" in the coming days.

A 26-hour alert is in place between 10pm on Tuesday, July 9 and 11.59pm on Wednesday, July 10 for three parts of Scotland: Grampian, Central, Tayside and Fife, and Highlands and Eilean Siar. Meanwhile the south of England has been slapped with a yellow warning for Monday night.

The Met Office warning for the three Scottish regions affected says that "homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings", while deep floodwater could cause a danger to life in some areas.

The warning added: "Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures."

Some communities could also be cut off by flooded roads as areas of rain moving into northern Scotland from late Tuesday into Wednesday are expected to become heavy with some embedded showery outbreaks as the band slows down and focusses across the east coast and Moray Firth.

The Met Office predicts that 20-30mm through the period is expected quite widely, however localised heavier bursts of rain likely to build totals toward 50-75mm with up to 90mm possible across Grampians and Northwest Highlands.

A nine-hour yellow alert for rain is also in place for London and South East England, as well as South West England between 6pm on Monday night and 3am on Tuesday morning.

The forecaster is predicting travel chaos, with bus and train services likely to be affected with journey times taking longer.

Spray and flooding on roads is also probable, while "some interruption to power supplies and other services likely", weather experts have warned.

The Met Office warns: "Rain becoming persistent and heavy this evening, leading to some impacts on travel and infrastructure."

The warning continued: "After a generally cloudy day with showers, more persistent rain will push north this evening and overnight. Rain will be persistent and heavy at times, particularly so for hills, moors and headlands exposed to brisk winds.

"Most of the warning area will see 20-40 mm of rain, with as much as 60-70 mm possible for some areas, for example Dartmoor and Exmoor. Rain should ease from the south during the night, clearing to scattered showers by morning."

Separate weather maps, produced by WX Charts, show a giant wall of rain looming over the south of England later this evening, while the wet weather is expected to head northwards throughout the night.

Met Office five-day forecast

Headline:

Turning wet and windy from the south, showers elsewhere.

Today:

Sunny spells and showers will continue across northern areas. Further south, after a dry start, it will turn wet and windy from the southwest, with some heavier bursts reaching Devon and Cornwall during the evening. Feeling warm in any sunshine.

Tonight:

Monday, July 8 until Friday, July 12

Showers across the north will ease with clear spells developing. Cloud and rain across the south spreading northwards, reaching northern England and Northern Ireland by dawn.

Tuesday:

Areas of rain, locally heavy will move northeastwards, skies brightening from the south with heavy showers developing in places. Temperatures near average but feeling warm in the sunshine.

Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:

Remaining unsettled as low pressure tracks northwards Wednesday. Further outbreaks of rain likely Thursday but some warm sunny spells around too. Similar on Friday, perhaps turning drier from the west.