Commuters have been facing travel chaos in northern England as trains have been cancelled and motorists are blocked from traveling because of flooded roads.
Parts of the north Midlands and Yorkshire have seen around half of the average November rainfall just today, the Met Office has said. More rain is expected this evening.
Some 98 flood warnings and 115 flood alerts have been issued by the Environment Agency, as amber and yellow warnings are in place across the country.
By 5pm on Thursday, Sheffield had seen 47. 2mm of rainfall, while Emley Moor was hit by 40 mm.
Rainfall could reach 100 mm by Friday morning, according to Met forecaster Craig Snell.
An amber warning for heavy rain has been issued and is set to last until 6am on Friday.
The warning, which means there is the possibility of travel delays, road and rail closures, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property, covers an area between Sheffield, Manchester and Bradford.
Yellow warnings are in place for north Wales as well as east Manchester, covering Leeds, Lincoln, York, Scarborough and Middlesborough. A yellow warning means there may be some travel disruption.
On Thursday, hours of torrential rain in Sheffield and other parts of South and West Yorkshire have flooded streets and left pathways impassable.
Hundreds of people have been left stranded in Meadowhall shopping center, just off the M1 near Sheffield, when the surrounding roads were brought to a standstill caused by nearby flooding, made worse when the River Don burst its banks.
The center’s annual Christmas Live event was cancelled as routes around the complex were flooded. It is the biggest shopping center in Yorkshire.
A mudslide has forced 35 homes to be evacuated in Mansfield, a town between Sheffield and Nottingham.
Nottinghamshire Police said they were called to Bank End Close just before 5pm. The fire service and Mansfield District Council were also called following concerns for the safety of people living in the houses.
Rail firm Northern said a number of routes, including the Todmorden-Rochdale cross-Pennine line, had been closed due to flooding. It added that flooding lines are blocked at stations including Hadfield and Rotherham Central.
South Yorkshire Police issued a number of alerts, including one saying: “Please adjust your driving to suit the extreme conditions during the next 24 hours.
“We have more rain forecast and many roads have standing water which varies in depth, so please drive with caution and reduce speed to allow time to react. “
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