Amber weather warning in force as heavy rain raises flood risk

A Met Office amber weather warning is now in force as “very heavy and persistent rain” is expected to continue into next week, with a potential danger to life in some areas.

Homes and businesses in parts of northern England and south-west Scotland are likely to become flooded on Sunday and Monday, the forecaster warned.

The amber rain warning, which came into effect at midnight on Sunday, covers south-west Scotland including Dumfries and Galloway, the Lothian Borders and Strathclyde.

Some areas could see 110mm to 130mm of rainfall before the alert expires at 11.59pm tonight.

Another amber alert for rain has also been issued for Cumbria, starting at 6am on Sunday and lasting until 6pm on Monday.

ScotRail announced on X that “due to forecast heavy rain across Dumfries and Galloway, for safety reasons, services between Kilmarnock and Dumfries will not operate” on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Dumbarton Road southbound was reopened after being closed due to flooding.

The A66 in County Durham and Cumbria was closed in both directions due to high winds between the A1M at Scotch Corner and M6 at Penrith, National Highways announced.

A yellow rain alert is in place for Northern Ireland until 6am on Monday, with the Met Office warning “flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely”.

Marco Petagna, meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Really, it’s a very slow moving band (of rain). That’s why we’re going to see those high rainfall totals.

“So the warnings are out quite widely across the sort of north-west of the UK, even down into Wales as well.

“Over the next few days, we’re looking at 20mm to 70mm towards the north-west of the UK, so one to three inches of rain, fairly widely.

“In those amber warning areas, we could see 200mm or more,” Mr Petagna added.

“So that’s eight inches or more – and yes, obviously, quite likely to give some flooding issues over the next few days.”

A yellow rain alert remains in place across South West Scotland, Central, Tayside and Fife, Highlands and Eilean Siar until 11.59pm on Sunday.

Further warnings cover parts of England, including the East Midlands, North East England, North West England, Yorkshire and Humber, until 6pm on Monday.

Those in the areas covered by the amber alerts for rain should avoid floodwater where possible. The forecaster said it is not safe to drive, walk or swim through floodwater.

People affected by fast-flowing or deep floodwater should call 999 and wait for help, the forecaster added.

It will be better to avoid travelling by road in some areas as conditions are expected to become “potentially dangerous” because of flooding.

The washout will likely lead to power cuts and some communities could be cut off because of flooded roads.

The Met Office advised residents in affected areas to prepare a flood kit, containing insurance and any other important documents, a torch and spare batteries, a first-aid kit and prescription medicines.

The kit should also contain supplies for looking after family members or pets, as well as warm and waterproof clothes, blankets, and food and water, the Met Office said.

“It’s not until later Monday, towards the end of Monday, before that front really clears away from the north-west of England,” Mr Petagna said.

The UK is likely to see mild temperatures of 10C to 13C over the next couple of days, which is three or four degrees above the seasonal average, Mr Petagna added.

Though it is expected the weather will settle around Tuesday next week, the respite is likely to be brief with more heavy rain set to come in from the west from Wednesday, Mr Petagna said.

“It’s going to be fairly widespread. I think much of the UK will see some wet and windy weather later in the week, again.

“But we need to keep an eye on that because there’s potential further warnings might be needed.

“There is, heading towards Christmas, a hint that things could start to quieten down. But the next week to 10 days look pretty unsettled.”