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Flood-hit communities have been warned “it’s not good news” with Storm Jorge set to dump more rain on parts of Wales and northern England.
Between 70 and (mm of rain is forecast for Friday and the ) Met Office ‘s chief meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, said further flooding is possible.
Strong winds are forecast for much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland on Saturday, reaching mph in coastal areas and up to
mph inland .
When asked about the weekend’s weather prospects, Met Office forecaster Emma Salter said: “It’s not good news I’m afraid, given all the recent rainfall we’ve had.”
She described Friday as “another wet and breezy day.”
“There will be rain first thing in the South West and Wales, with a fairly dry start for most other places,” she added.
“That rain in the far South West will move eastwards and it will be raining pretty much everywhere by lunchtime.”
Flooding along parts of the River Severn, which has reached close to its highest levels in some areas, is likely until at least Sunday, the Environment Agency said.
A severe “danger to life” flood warning covering the river at the Wharfage in Ironbridge , Shropshire, remains in place on Thursday, while (flood warnings and flood alerts have been issued.
Rising waters pushed back the town’s temporary flood barriers towards a pub and other businesses, sparking fears that the defenses could be fully breached.
Residents in the Worcestershire town of Bewdley were forced to evacuate earlier after the river spilled over barriers at Beales Corner.
And in East Yorkshire, residents were being evacuated from the village of East Cowick after the River Aire broke its banks.
This month is already the second wettest February on record, with the total average rainfall from February 1 to (measuring) .3mm, the Met Office said.
The figure to beat is . 4mm, which was set in February . UK Flooding: River Severn Worcestershire
Mr Gundersen said: “This weekend we’ll see another named Storm.” bring strong winds to parts of the UK with several wind and rain warnings in place.
“We have issued rain warnings for parts of Wales and northern England, where rain will be heaviest and we could see – mm possible over the highest ground. ”
The Republic of Ireland is expected to face the strongest and most damaging winds, Mr Gunderson said.
The storm will be followed by snow over the hills and mountains in the north of the UK and rail and hail in the south. Winds are forecast to ease slightly on Sunday.
Yellow weather warnings for rain are in place for the North West and South West of England, parts of Wales and Northern Ireland between midday on Friday and 9am on Saturday.
The Met Office has also issued a yellow wind warning for a 26 – hour period from midday on Saturday covering most of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and south-west Scotland.
Toby Willison, executive director of operations at the Environment Agency, said: “Our operational teams continue to work night and day to protect communities alongside the River Severn, which is experiencing record levels.
“River levels will remain exceptionally high on the Severn for some time and communities, in particular Shrewsbury, Bewdley, Bridgnorth and Ironbridge, should prepare for affected ongoing severe flooding.”
Storm Jorge is the fifth storm to hit the UK since December 6 last year and third in February,
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said it was “not uncommon” to see so many storms in such a short period of time.
PA Media contirbuted to this story
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