Hour-by-hour Met Office forecast at Gloucestershire slapped with severe amber rain warning
Gloucestershire is bracing for another round of thunderstorms, bad weather and flooding as weather forecasters say yet more heavy rain is on its way to the region. Two Met Office weather warnings will be in affect across the county tonight, with the worst of the weather set to arrive at around 10pm today (Thursday, September 26).
Forecasters predict showers and thunderstorms will develop this afternoon, before "merging into a large band of heavy rain" later this evening. "Some places, especially across central and eastern parts of the warning area, are likely to receive 30-40mm in three hours or less, and perhaps 50-60mm or more in around six hours," the Met Office said.
Gloucester, Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud and Tewkesbury are all covered in a severe amber rain alert, which will come into effect at 6pm today. While parts of the county are not included in this warning, heavy rain is still forecast elsewhere and a yellow rain warning (covering the whole of the South West) is still in place until 9am tomorrow morning.
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The latest band of rainfall is likely to worsen conditions on already saturated ground and impact communities still recovering from recent flooding. Travel disruption and further flooding is expected, with rivers predicted to continue rising even after the rain has cleared.
According to Met Office weather maps, the worst of the weather will move in from around 10pm tonight, with wind speeds getting stronger as the night continues. By 11pm, the region will be drenched in rain. Winds with turn northerly, causing temperatures to drop and the huge 'band of rain' to move southwards. By 5am the weather will start to ease off and Gloucestershire will finally see some sunny skies once again by 6am.
The Met Office says locals can expect:
Spray and flooding probably leading to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
Homes and businesses are likely to be flooded, causing damage to some buildings
A good chance some communities will be cut off by flooded roads
Delays and some cancellations to train and bus services are likely
Power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses likely
Hour-by-hour weather forecast
Thursday
1pm - Showers, with some possible sunny outbreaks
2pm - Brief sunny spells as rain moves eastwards
3pm - Bigger, heavier patches of rain start to form as showers clump together. Temperature as warm as it will get (16C)
4pm - More showers move across region
5pm - North and west Gloucestershire to see heavier rain. 'Band of rain' begins to form in the west
6pm - Showers continue as slow-moving band continues. Amber warning comes into effect.
7pm - Heavy rain begins. Temperatures at around 13C as wind speeds pick up
8pm - Herefordshire to see heavy downpours, but the worst has yet to hit most of Gloucestershire
9pm - Very heavy rain settles in in the north and west of the region.
10pm - Heavy rain continues. Temperatures still mild at 12C
11pm - County is covered in heavy rain, with up to 32mm falling per hour in areas
Friday
12am - Heavy rain continues
1am - More rain forecast, but it is predicted to ease up slightly
2am - Rain gets heavier again and winds reach around 30mph
3am - Strong northerly winds blow the rain band southwards. Rains ease up again but temperatures begin to drop
4am - Temperatures at 8C but feels like 6C. Band of rain moves southwards
5am - Wet weather continues in mid and South Gloucestershire but starts easing off completely.
6am - Dry skies at last for most in county! Amber weather warning ends.
The rest of Friday is set to be a mix of sunshine a cloud, though windspeeds will remain around 35mph from the north, temperatures will be back up to 13-14C.