Over the weekend, a series of named storms delivered gusts of up to 81mph and torrential rain to over 250 areas of the United Kingdom.
After a break with dry and sunny weather today, severe weather will return later this week, with eastern Scotland expecting up to 3in (75mm) of rain tomorrow, comparable to one-third of the monthly normal.
The washout will continue in some locations until Wednesday, but most areas will have drier and brighter weather with slightly above-average temperatures starting Thursday.
Today, the Environment Agency has issued 202 flood alerts for areas of England where flooding is “possible,” as well as 42 more urgent warnings for areas where flooding is “expected.”
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued eight flood alerts, while Natural Resources Wales has issued seven more, bringing the UK total to 259.
In Colchester, a large section of a weir in the city’s Castle Park collapsed into the River Colne with officials saying major repairs will likely take ‘several months’.
The severe rain has caused problems across the UK rail network, with flooding at Kirkstall Forge in Leeds affecting LNER and Northern services through Yorkshire.
Meanwhile, South Western Railway services between London Waterloo and Exeter were still disrupted by a landslip that occurred more than a week ago, after work to remove the area over the weekend was hampered by additional inclement weather.
Still, today will be beautiful and dry, with lots of sunny spells across England and Wales, with highs of 12C (54F) in South West England.
However, the Met Office cautions that following the ‘short, drier break for many’, more unstable weather is ‘expected’ tomorrow when the next area of low-pressure rolls in from the west.
According to the Met Office, the amount of rain that fell in England and Wales between December 1 and 9 was more than double what was forecast.