Flood warnings have been issued across areas of England as a 9-hour period Met Office weather alert comes into effect across much of the country.
On Saturday morning the Met Office issued the yellow climate warning, which informs that heavy rains and sometimes thunderstorms are possible in many areas of England and Wales over the weekend.
THE Met Office The weather warning will be in effect from 9pm on Saturday until 6pm on Sunday, with some disruption to travel and power supplies also possible.
From 7:30pm on Saturday, the Environment Agency There are flood warnings, which means there is a possibility of flooding in an area and people should be prepared, in force in 17 areas of England.
They occur mainly in the south-west of the county, including parts of Cornwall and Devon, as well as in the East Midlands, including Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
Several warnings issued for the East Midlands state: “Thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are forecast over the next 24 hours, with low confidence over exact timing and locations. We are monitoring the situation closely.
“Avoid using low-lying footpaths near local watercourses and plan driving routes to avoid low-lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded.”
The number of alerts and their locations may increase or decrease in the coming hours as the weather situation becomes clearer.
THE Met Office The weather warning states: “While there is still some uncertainty as to the exact details, areas of heavy rain and at times thunderstorms are expected to spread northwards and then westwards across England and Wales from this evening and overnight.
“These areas of heavy rain may become more persistent across western areas during the day on Sunday, while heavy showers and slow-moving thunderstorms are likely to develop further east.
“Rainfall amounts can vary considerably across the warning area, with some locations recording less than 10 mm of rain, while others record 40 to 60 mm of rain.
“There is a smaller chance that some spots within the warning area could see 80 to 100mm of rain by the end of Sunday, which could occur in a relatively short period of time.
“These higher totals are slightly more likely in the southern half of the warning area. Considering this region has also seen a lot of rain since Thursday, impacts may be more likely than would typically be expected for the time of year here.”