Large swathes of northern England remain at risk from flooding with further rain forecast as river levels remain high in the areas worst hit by the bad weather.
A third day of flood misery has seen the River Ouse in York rise to its second highest ever level.
The river is "currently peaking" at 5.07 metres - apparently three bricks below the flood-defence level.
It is expected to remain at that peak for the next 24 to 48 hours but officials in the historic city are optimistic that the flood defences will hold.
The only time it has surpassed that was in 2000 when it reached 5.4 metres, one brick below the flood defence level.
That triggered widespread flood damage to around 2,000 homes in the vicinity of the river in the city.
Water was up to the letterboxes of businesses and shops along the River Ouse, with its normal water level between 0.05 and 1.9 metres.
People living close to a block of flats in Newburn, Newcastle, where foundations were exposed when floodwater gouged out the ground under the building, have been evacuated again.
Residents of Spencer Court in Mill Vale have spent the last two nights in temporary accommodation and now people who were allowed back into their homes in nearby buildings have been asked to leave again as a precaution.
It comes after an 11-year-old boy was struck by lightning as he stood in the car park of Dorcan Academy in Swindon, Wiltshire, on Wednesday afternoon.
Joe Compton is in a stable condition in the specialist Frenchay Hospital in Bristol after he suffered a cardiac arrest, electrical shock and severe burns.
First aiders from a nearby recreation centre rushed to his aid before he was taken to hospital.
Some 27 flood warnings - meaning "immediate action is required" - have been issued by the Environment Agency , many relating to areas next to the River Ouse.
Around 570 properties have been flooded across England and Wales since Sunday - 300 in the Yorkshire area alone - in what has been described as the most intense September storm for 30 years.
North Yorkshire Fire Service crews has been involved in several rescues.
Crews used a boat to transport carers into a residential home to administer medication to elderly residents in Skeldergate, York, and a man trapped in a camper van in the village of Acaster Malbis was winched clear.
Traders in one flood-hit northeastern town say thieves have exploited the situation by looting £30,000 worth of stock from their evacuated shops.
The Highways Agency said a small section of of the northbound A1 remains closed in the Catterick area.
While downpours are likely to be lighter and more scattered across England and Wales, parts of the North West and the Midlands are also expected to endure more flooding.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has put out flood warnings for Western Scotland , where heavy showers are forecast.
Sky News Weather Presenter Jo Wheeler said although the worst of the weather is over, concerns remain for Sunday.
She said: "Many parts of the country will end the day dry as showers fade away this evening.
"Increasing cloud in the north west will bring rain to Scotland and Ireland and this will spread southwards overnight, with much of the rain dying away.
"It will be cloudy through the Midlands and the South West early tomorrow, with some showery outbreaks.
"Heavy blustery showers will follow into the north and west where the winds will become strong and gusty.
"Through the day, the rain belt will continue to clear away to the South East, whilst showers elsewhere will become more widespread.
"In between the showers there will be some sunny spells and temperatures will reach around 17C (62F).
"Later in the day, the showers will die back to northern and western parts as high pressure begins to build from the west.
"Saturday will bring plenty of fine weather to the country, but there is further wet and windy weather expected on Sunday."
The flooding comes just two months after the Government's advisers on climate change issued a warning about inadequate defences.
More than 500,000 homes and businesses will be at "significant" risk of flooding without more investment, the Committee on Climate Change said in a report in July.
In May last year, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) changed the way funding is allocated to flood projects.
The partnership programme means instead of meeting the full costs of a limited number of schemes, government money is potentially available towards any worthwhile scheme, based on numbers of households protected, damage prevented and any other benefits.
The Met Office said the most intense September storm since 1981 was the result of the unusual position of the jet stream - a high-altitude band of wind which steers weather systems and caused heavy rain and floods in the summer when it shifted further south than normal.
