UK floods: More rain to come before dry and sunny weekend

Fresh flood alerts were issued today after some places in the UK saw half a month’s worth of rain fall in 12 hours.

While the extreme weather continues during what is being described as “monsoon May,” the outlook for the weekend is looking much brighter, according to weathermen.

But before the weather finally lets up, torrential downpours and thunderstorms will spread north on Thursday, with the Met Office warning that up to 40mm (2 inches) could fall in the worst affected spots.

Some parts of the South, the Midlands and Wales were predicted to have up to 30mm of rainfall today - almost half the monthly average of 66mm in just 24 hours.

Forecasters say spells of persistent and heavy rain will be accompanied by gusts of up to 50mph in some places.

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Levenshall in Cumbria and Morecambe in Lancashire, which normally see a monthly average of 60mm, were hit by 32mm of rainfall between 10pm on Wednesday and 10am on Thursday.

The Environment Agency has issued one flood warning for the South West of England and 29 flood alerts across the South Wales, the Midlands and parts of East Anglia.

South West Scotland and the Lothian Borders face the wettest conditions before a short-lived spell of settled weather sets in on Friday.

Speaking with Yahoo! News, forecaster Dan Williams said: “There will be a great deal of dry and sunny weather over the weekend, with temperatures hitting the mid teens giving us a brief respite from wet conditions.”

During the dry spell, temperatures will reach highs of 17C in the South and 14C in the North.

Last night, Environment Agency flood manager Katharine Evans said: 'Following an exceptionally wet April which led to some flooding last week, rivers are high and the ground is saturated, meaning that further rainfall brings with it an increased risk of flooding.

'We are continuing to closely monitor the forecast and rainfall, particularly for rivers in South Wales, Devon and Cornwall. And Environment Agency teams are out on the ground keeping a close watch on river levels, as well as checking defences and clearing any potential blockages to reduce the risk of flooding.”

Make the most of the dry conditions because bleak conditions will return by Monday.