UK weather live: Flood alert as Met Office raises amber warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms for this week
The Met Office has heightened its warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms for a central part of England with the country braced for downpours on Thursday afternoon.
Yellow weather warnings for heavy rain were already in place this morning for the south of the country, the north east and the eastern side of Northern Ireland.
But at around 11am, the Met Office raised its warning for a central region of England to an amber alert, which means rain is likely to cause flooding and disruption to transport this evening and overnight.
The region, which includes Birmingham, Worcester, Leicester and Peterborough, should also expect thunderstorms this afternoon, the Met Office said. The warning expires at 6am on Friday.
The Environment Agency has also 27 flood warnings in place across England, meaning flooding is expected.
It follows heavy rain and flash flooding in some parts of the country on Monday. In Northamptonshire, a holiday park was evacuated due to flooding on Tuesday night.
Met Office chief meteorologist Neil Armstrong said: “We are expecting an area of slow-moving showers and thunderstorms to develop this afternoon and evening across parts of the Midlands. The rain will fall onto already saturated ground, potentially affecting communities still recovering from recent flooding.”
