Parts of the UK will be drenched in heavy rainfall and hit with strong winds before the week is out, according to weather maps. The wet and gusty conditions are expected to hit southern and eastern regions with force on Thursday, October 23, with weather warnings being issued by the Met Office. The forecaster has warned of travel disruption, flooding, power cuts and damage to buildings in southern England, the East Midlands and parts of Wales and Yorkshire.
According to maps from WXCharts, which uses Met Desk data, the seasonal spell will kick in from midnight tonight, gradually moving upwards to the Midland regions by around 6am. Meanwhile, the Met Office yellow weather warnings for rain will remain in place for all of Thursday until 9pm, with affected areas warned to expect heavy downpours from Wednesday evening and up to 50mm in some areas by the early hours of October 23.
Separate warnings for wind will cover eastern England up to Scarborough from 9am to 11:59pm on Thursday, where gusts of up to 75mph could develop.
The Met Office said the strong winds could cause power cuts, transport disruption and damage to buildings with a small chance of injuries and danger to life caused by large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads and seafronts.
Another yellow alert for wind on Thursday has been issued for southwest England and parts of Wales including Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, Pembrokeshire and Swansea.
The blitz of disruptive weather is expected to largely avoid Scotland, according to WXCharts maps generated on October 22, with the exception of some rainfall of around 0.7mm per hour hitting its lowermost eastern regions.
Northern parts of England could also dodge the most severe conditions, but are still likely to be hit by downpours of up to 1mm per hour by Thursday morning, the maps suggest.
In an online forecast, Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said the end of the week would be characterised by some “very unsettled weather” caused by low pressure.
“The low is deepening as it crosses the UK, it’s likely to bring a swathe of strong winds as well,” he said. “[Also] gales around southern and eastern coasts, the risk of 60-mile-per-hour gusts in some exposed spots, perhaps even a touch more in some places.”
The Met Office’s forecast for Thursday, October 23, read: “Rain remains across central and southern England, moving eastwards. Staying windy in the south with gales likely across western and eastern coasts. Feeling colder than in recent days.”
