We’d pack an umbrella while on the way to the office today, just in case (Picture: REX/Metro.co.uk)
After a whole day of rain, we can confirm today will be a whole day of rain again
Well, if you’re lucky enough to live anywhere but the south of England and Wales.
A sprawling yellow weather warning for rain – and a lot of it – is in place today.
It’s similar to the yellow weather warning that was in place yesterday for rain, though covers a slightly smaller area. But, thankfully, nowhere near the blustery highs of Storm Lilian.
The alert, which went active at 12am and will end at 11.59pm, warns that up to 100mm of rain could be dumped onto some parts of England and Wales.
‘Outbreaks of heavy rain are expected widely across southern England and southern Wales on Friday,’ the warning says.
‘Heavy rain will be persistent for some and may be particularly heavy in a few places. Rainfall totals of 15-30mm are expected widely, however, the wettest areas are likely to see 40-60mm through the whole of Friday with a lower likelihood of a few areas seeing as much as 75-100mm.’
The warning is in place for the entire day (Picture: Metro.co.uk)
Thunderstorms may also be possible in the southwest during the early hours and the southeast later in the day.
A yellow weather warning is enforced when officials feel the weather is ‘likely’ to cause some disruption to people’s lives. Think delayed or cancelled trains and buses, road closures and power outrages.
The Met Office says flooding is possible in the regions under the warning. People should prepare an emergency flood kit and flood plan to be on the safe side.
Drivers should check road conditions well in advance too, as spray and flooding make driving tricky or not possible.
This will be, however, the final hurdle before less wet and windy weather at the weekend – and even a mini-heatwave as a treat.
Though once again, it might depend on where you live. Forecasters say the weather will be ‘split’ between the south and north sides of the UK, with central England especially turning red.
Forecasters say the weather is ‘split’ over the next few days (Picture: Stefano Porta/LaPresse/Shutterst)
‘There’s a marked east/west split too, with cool and cloudier conditions to the east of the UK, whilst the west experiences warm and sunny weather,’ the Met Office explains.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Jason Kelly added: ‘Repeated areas of rain are likely to affect southern Britain over the next few days, generating some localised impacts into the weekend.
‘We currently have yellow weather warnings for rain in place, and it’s likely we will be issuing further warnings across the weekend.
‘It’s a different story to the north of the UK though, as high pressure brings warmer and sunnier conditions, with higher-than-average temperatures, particularly across parts of western Scotland. Eastern areas are likely to be cooler and at times, cloudier due to winds blowing off the North Sea.’
Temperatures are already set to reach the high 20s in the Midlands today, with western Scotland seeing up to 27°C.
Weather officials say this postcode lottery weather over the next three days is down to the jet stream, a band of winds that blows from west to east around the planet and has immense sway over the weather in the UK.
Some patches of the UK will feel the heat (Picture: Geoffrey Swaine/REX/Shutterstock)
Meteorologist Aidan McGivern says the jet stream has basically gotten ‘stuck’ while extending south.
‘It’s currently a very elongated setup and when it is elongated this much, it can cut off from the main flow into an entirely separate circulation,’ he says.
‘You get an upper low and a surface low, just cut off from the main flow, just meandering erratically around, separate from the main flow and therefore, getting stuck somewhere.
‘At the beginning of the week, we didn’t know where it was going to get stuck, but it looks very much now like it’s going to be to the south of the UK over the next few days, bringing heavy spells rain.’
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