The Met Office has warned “road closures” could affect motorists on Monday and Tuesday as severe weather is set to hit parts of England. Meteorologists have issued a yellow weather warning for rain in Devon, Cornwall and parts of Dorset, with fears the downpours could lead to “flooding and disruption”.
The weather warning covers parts of the South West England, with everywhere from Lands End to just past Swanage affected. Met Office experts said Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay were all in the likely impact zone.
The weather warning will cover almost 24 hours, running from 12pm on Monday to 9am on Tuesday, with individuals likely to be affected. According to the Met Office, there is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded or damaged.
Fast-flowing or deep floodwater may cause a danger to life, while there was a risk of power cuts and loss of services to some homes and businesses. However, road users are set to be affected with the Met Office warning that spray and flooding “could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures”.
They explained that there was a slight chance that closures could leave some communities “cut off by flooded roads”. Delays or cancellations are also likely to affect train and bus services, cutting off transport routes in the region.
The Met Office added: “Whilst there is some uncertainty, outbreaks of rain may become persistent on Monday, especially later in the day and overnight, before gradually easing and clearing into Tuesday.
“Accumulations of 10-20 mm are possible fairly widely, with perhaps as much as 30-50 mm over Dartmoor. Given saturated ground following recent rain, there is a chance this may leading to some flooding and disruption in places.”
The RAC has previously warned road users should take precautions when getting behind the wheel in heavy rain. They urged road users to reduce their speed and leave space between vehicles as stopping distances will be increased.
In heavy rain, road users should use dipped headlights so that other drivers can see more easily. They also encouraged individuals to keep their air conditioning on, with the tool likely to stop windows from misting up.
