The Environment Agency has issued 22 flood warnings and 100 flood warnings, mainly for the south coast of England and North Yorkshire. A number of yellow and orange weather warnings have also been issued. Met Office spokesman Craig Snell said: “The warning areas are where we’re most concerned about the risk of flooding, but that doesn’t mean areas outside of them aren’t going to see some pretty horrific conditions.” He said a warning had been put in place for south-east England as “it has been quite wet there since the start of November, with many places already seeing more than the month’s share of rain”. Mr Snell added that northern England and the Midlands would have a “pretty miserable day” thanks to extra gusts of wind. The M23 is closed in both directions between Junction 10 for Crawley and Junction 11 for Pease Pottage, West Sussex due to standing water this morning. Although they have reopened, some lanes on the highway remain closed. Read more: UK Weather – The latest Sky News forecast The A27 was also closed in both directions between Emsworth and Chichester after heavy rain left up to 20 cars trapped in floodwaters, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said. He tweeted: “Police on scene and road closed in both directions. We have specialist equipment watching to help get people to safety. AVOID THE AREA and only travel if necessary. “We are extremely busy dealing with multiple flood-related incidents, including rescuing people from cars and flooding buildings. “Lots of localized road flooding in West Sussex, take care tonight and only drive if absolutely necessary.” Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said strong winds “will add to the cold and unpleasant feel of the day”. He explained: “An area of low pressure that moved across the south of the UK last night has moved into the North Sea, but an area of blocking high pressure over Scandinavia means the system will return to the whole of the UK today and tomorrow. Image: Vehicles stranded in flood waters of the River Adur near Shermanbury in West Sussex “Rain today will be concentrated across Scotland, north and central England and north Wales, with heavy downpours possible. “Expect 40mm of rain widely, with up to 100mm possible in the hills. Localized flooding will continue to be a concern. “After recent flooding in the south, it will be drier there today, but showers are possible in the south-west. “Tonight, northern, central and eastern parts of the UK will see further rain, which will become increasingly confined to the north on Friday, especially in Scotland. “A brief ridge of high pressure will bring some respite on Saturday, but it means a cold start for many with widespread frost in the south and west. “Unfortunately low pressure systems are never far away, bringing further wind and rain on Sunday and next week.” A second yellow warning has been issued for an area from Manchester to the Scottish border until 7am on Friday. The east coast of Scotland will see an additional rain warning from 3pm today until 6pm on Friday. The warning will intensify in north-east Scotland and turn orange from midnight to 3pm on Friday. Train passengers in Scotland have been warned to expect increased journey times as speed restrictions are imposed due to extreme rainfall. Image: A yellow warning has been issued for eastern Scotland and north-east England ScotRail said more than a month’s worth of rain was expected to fall in parts of eastern Scotland from Thursday until 7am on Saturday. An orange weather alert is in place for Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perth and Kinross from midnight on Thursday until 3pm on Friday, warning that some rapid flow or deep flooding is likely, “causing a risk to life ». The yellow alert warns of accumulating rainfall across the high ground of eastern Scotland, with 50-70mm expected and up to 100mm possible in the Angus and Aberdeenshire hills. Forecasters said the area covered by the orange warning could see more than 100mm of rain and even 150mm in parts of the Grampians and Cairngorms.
