UK weather: Met Office issues warning as Storm Lilian to bring MONTH’s worth of rain in 12 hours after wild 73mph winds
SOME Brits could see between 50mm and 70mm of rain today, with the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning for much of the south east of England.
The initial warning, which came into force at 6am and lasts until 1pm, stretched from Portsmouth, Hampshire, up to Ipswich in Suffolk.
However, this was later revised to just cover Kent and Sussex.
The Met Office said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “It’s been a very dry August across southeast England but that’s set to change on Saturday.
“A few spots may see a whole month’s worth of rain fall in less than 12 hours.”
Spells of rain, heavy at times, are likely to cause some travel disruption and possibly flooding in a few places.
Spray and flooding on roads are likely to make journey times longer
Bus and train services probably affected with journey times also taking longer.
There is a small chance of flooding of a few homes and businesses and also a small chance of some interruption to power supplies and other services.
It follows widespread travel disruption caused by Storm Lilian on Friday.
The warning comes ahead of what could be the busiest August bank holiday on the roads on record.
The RAC estimates 19.2million leisure trips by car will be made over the weekend, with 3.2million on Friday alone.
This is the highest since the motoring services company began recording data for the summer bank holiday in 2015.
Liam Eslick, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “With that yellow warning, expect some small travel disruption.
“I know it’s the start of the bank holiday so people may be out and about trying to get to their holiday destinations.
“We do say take care when driving on roads, stick to the main roads where you can because more local tracks could see some surface water.
“So do take care when travelling around through Saturday morning.”
The heaviest of the rain is expected to move away around mid-afternoon, but showers will linger around central and south east England, as well as western Scotland.
A wind warning was in place across northern England and North Wales until 11am on Friday, with Storm Lilian bringing widespread travel disruption including delayed and cancelled flights.
“Winds aren’t expected to be too much of an issue on Saturday though,” said Mr Eslick.
“It’s mainly going to be the rain.
“Winds will be pretty light in the south of England, though you may get the odd gust around the very far South East through the English Channel.
“But mainland is going to be pretty light.”
The Met Office said there could be a “brisk breeze” along the extreme east coast of Kent, where speeds are likely to reach 30mph.
Moving into Sunday, conditions are expected to ease – though some showers are forecast in the east, Northern England and southern Scotland.
Winds will pick up once again and it will be blustery for much of the UK.
But, according to the Met Office, this will not be as strong as the winds on Friday morning.
Looking ahead to the Bank Holiday Monday, Mr Eslick said: “Monday looks like the best of the days.
“There will be more in the way of some sunshine and winds are expected to ease.
“It will be a lot calmer coming into the Bank Holiday Monday and it will be nice to have that extra day this weekend to enjoy.”