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The Met Office has warned of more rain in the coming days after flash floods wreaked havoc across the UK, submerging roads and homes.
Several parts of the country, including Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and London, have been overwhelmed by floods after receiving more than a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours.
While Tuesday is expected to be quieter, deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris warned of further unsettled weather and heavy rain later in the week.
Showers will continue across England and Wales but are unlikely to be as heavy as the rain across the weekend, as there are currently no official weather warnings in place.
He said: “Through Wednesday and Thursday, unsettled weather is set to return as further frontal systems move in from the Atlantic, bringing showers or longer spells of rain to many parts of the UK and a chance of strong winds in a few places.”
The heavy downpours flooded at least 45 properties, according to the Environment Agency and led to travel chaos. The A421 in Bedfordshire is still closed in both directions between A6 Bedford and M1 J13 near Marston Moretaine due to waterlogged conditions.
An amber weather warning is currently in force for millions of people across the UK until later tonight. The warning for heavy rain came into force at around 8.15am and will remain in place until 9pm, sweeping as far west as Bristol and up to Northamptonshire in the East Midlands.
The Met Office originally issued an amber warning covering Worcester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Hull, before updating its advice. The warning highlights potential flooding, damage to some buildings and travel disruption.
Rain warnings were in place all weekend with a fresh yellow alert coming into effect at midnight to last until 11.59pm tonight — covering parts of Wales, much of the south of England, the Midlands and into north-west England and Yorkshire.
It initially covered Worcester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Hull but an update from the Met Office said the warning area had shifted further south and southwest. This includes Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Buckinghamshire.
The Environment Agency has issued 22 flood warnings for areas such as Leighton Buzzard, South Ruislip in London and Childswickham in Worcestershire.
Some schools in Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire have also closed, with updates on Oxfordshire Council’s website citing water flooding as the reason for all but one of the shuttered schools.
In the capital, the Overground and some Tube lines were partly suspended on Monday. Many are still operating with delays.
London Fire Brigade said its 999 control officers have taken around 350 calls to flooding across the capital. Firefighters have attended incidents in Ruislip, Uxbridge, Wimbledon and Carshalton.
The Carabao Cup third-round tie on Tuesday between AFC Wimbledon and Newcastle has been called off due to “extensive overnight flooding” at the Cherry Red Records Stadium. Dramatic footage at the stadium appeared to show a sinkhole in the pitch and very wet stands.
