Storm Jorge news – live: New record for wettest February set as 90mph winds set to batter UK

The UK has suffered its wettest February on record after three successive storms brought heavy downpours and flooding.

A UK average of 202.1mm has fallen this month, surpassing February 1990 when 193.4mm fell, the Met Office said.

Householders across the country were bracing themselves on Saturday night for further damaging high winds – of up to 90mph.

Some areas were deluged by more than a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours, as safety teams worked quickly to erect flood defences in vulnerable areas.

Heavy rain – from Storm Ciara, Storm Dennis and now Storm Jorge – contributed to record river levels in the Midlands, Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Jorge, which has brought rain, gales of up to 70mph and snow, prompted weather warnings stretching from Cornwall to the north of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Parts of Ireland will bear the brunt of the strong winds, with a red warning in place for Galway and County Clare.