157 flood warnings and alerts issued as heavy rain and fog blanket Britain

04 March 2024 , 11:27

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Tonight, rain in the southwest will continue to move northeastwards, with clearer, showery conditions following (Image: PA)

Over 150 flood warnings are in place and Brits are starting the week with a dose of freezing fog as icy temperatures continue.

Snow blanketed Cumbria, Wiltshire and other parts of the South West at the weekend and Brits in Scotland and parts of southern Wales woke up to an icy -3C this morning. The Met Office warned of a chilly start to the week, after the mercury dipped to an icy -4.6 in Benson, Oxfordshire, yesterday.

The forecast of rain comes as 118 flooding alerts and 39 flood warnings remain in place by the Environment Agency. The Met Office said: "A cold start today, with rain moving into the southwest. [It[ will be rather cloudy in the far northeast of Scotland with some occasional rain. Otherwise, many areas dry with sunny spells once early freezing fog patches clear. Cloud and rain however will soon move into the far southwest and edge steadily northeastward."

Tonight, rain in the southwest will continue to move northeastwards, with clearer, showery conditions following. Mist and fog patches will develop in southern and central parts, and turn windy in the southwest. Tomorrow, the forecaster says, the rain across central and eastern areas "mostly dies out", with sunny spells developing quite widely after patchy fog clears in central and southern England. Some showers developing in the west.

A couple from Somerset were flooded so badly that they had to use a boat to get shopping and their grandchildren along their driveway and to their front door. Bill Smart, from Blakeway near West Hay, told BBC Radio Somerset his home has been flooded up to two feet. His neighbour Lyndon Smith also woke up to a burst rhyne next to his property, turning his garden into a pond and his patio into a jetty.

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The weather comes as England and Wales had their respective warmest Februarys on record according to provisional Met Office statistics in what was a mild and wet month for many. The average temperature in England for February 2024 was 7.5°C, topping the previous record of 7.0°C set in 1990.

Wales saw an average mean temperature of 6.9°C for the month, marginally ahead of 1998’s record of 6.8°C. The UK experienced its second warmest February, averaging 6.3°C, but not surpassing February 1998’s figure of 6.8°C. The UK’s 10 warmest Februarys on record in a series from 1884 now include 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2019.

Rachel Hagan