‘Wild’ rain and wind to batter UK as 91 areas put on flood alert

The Met Office warned conditions would start ‘going downhill’ through Sunday (Pictures: LNP/Rex/PA)

Heavy downpours and winds of more than 50mph will bring a ‘wild start’ to Sunday for much of the UK.

Yellow weather warnings for rain remain in place in several parts of the country, including across London and the South, the North West of England, North and South Wales and parts of Scotland – including in Glasgow, where the global Cop26 climate summit is due to begin on Sunday.

There have also been some 91 flood alerts issued in England, Wales and Scotland.

Steven Keats, meteorologist at the Met Office, said conditions would start ‘going downhill’ in the west throughout Sunday.

He said: ‘Further West heavy rain will be picking up and there’ll be some heavy rain coming in from the Atlantic. That will dominate the weather into tomorrow.

‘Heavy rain will push across into…western parts of England and Wales and be accompanied by some pretty strong and gusty winds.’

If you’re travelling on #SundayMorning, expect some tricky driving conditionsâš ï¸#Halloween starts very wet and #windy for many, with gales on some coasts. A band of heavy #rain moves north and east across the country with sunshine and blustery showers to followðŸŒ¦ï¸ #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/WDklkoCKZL

— Met Office (@metoffice) October 30, 2021

Mr Keats said parts of Wales and southern England could see winds of around to 40 or 50mph which could ‘potentially cause problems’, adding: ‘It’ll be a pretty wild start to Sunday.

‘Given the fact that trees are in full leaf and the ground is pretty saturated in many areas, you could get one or trees coming down.

‘It’s going to be very unsettled.’

Tourists walk on a rain-soaked Royal Mile in Edinburgh (Picture: Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock)

An abandoned car in flood water near Donyatt in Somerset (Picture: PA)

There have been more than 90 flood alerts issued across the UK (Picture: PA)

Vehicles pass through standing water after heavy rain in Longbridge, West Midlands (Picture: PA)

The warning comes as emergency services in Wales joined a multi-agency search following reports of people in distress in the water.

It was reported locally that those involved in the incident were paddle-boarders.

Members of Heddlu Dyfed-Powys Police, Welsh Ambulance Service (WAS), fire and coast guard attended the scene on the river Cleddau in Haverfordwest.

Air support was provided by both the National Police Air Service (NPAS) and Wales Air Ambulance.

The incident was described as ‘distressing’ and ‘a tragedy’, with local politicians passing on their support for those involved.

A woman shelters under an umbrella in Wimbledon on a wet and rainy morning (Picture: Amer Ghazzal/Rex/Shutterstock)

The Met Office issued flood warnings for several parts of the UK (Picture: Amer Ghazzal/Rex/Shutterstock)

Many areas will be affected by torrential rain over the next days (Picture: Amer Ghazzal/Rex/Shutterstock)

It comes after multiple flood warnings were issued on Saturday and some areas received more than a month’s worth of rain in 48 hours.

Mr Keats said that declining temperatures throughout next week would bring a ‘seasonal’ feel and that weather would remain ‘unsettled’, though risks of ‘hefty downpours’ remained.

He added: ‘The most disruptive potential from the weather will be in the next 24 to 36 hours.’

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