More than 100 flood warnings remain in place, mainly in southern England, following last week's wet weather, as cold temperatures continue.
The Environment Agency said 125 flood warnings remain in England, including along the River Thames near London. A yellow warning for ice across southern England and southern Wales expired early on Tuesday morning.
Temperatures remain cold, however, and an amber cold health alert is in place for much of England until Friday. BBC Weather presenter Stav Danaos said that “the misery of floodwater clean-up continues across parts of England as the rivers and waterways only slowly return back to normal”.
“Weeks of wet and windy weather from a number of named storms brought heavy rain on saturated ground giving rise to widespread flooding across England and Wales,” he said. He said that the rest of this week should remain dry, but cold “with a frost and ice risk for some”.
“The threat of snowfall has now eased, with the rest of the week forecast to remain dry with variable cloud and some sunshine,” he said. Snow flurries hit large parts of southern England on Monday, including around Kent and London, but much of it did not appear to settle, Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said.
“We're not expecting much in the way of further snowfall on Tuesday. In actual fact, it will be much sunnier today, particularly in the south, compared to Monday,” he said. In Jersey, the runway at the island's airport had to be closed due to snowfall, causing a delay to flights. The airports said its teams were de-icing the run, with it expected to reopen later.
Temperatures overnight dropped to -1C in Birmingham, 0C in Glasgow and 1C in London.
Prof Dominic Mellon, from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said cold weather “can have a serious impact on health”, adding that it was important to check on those most vulnerable to the cold.
“If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over the age of 65 it is important to try and heat the rooms where you spend most of your time, such as your living room or bedroom, in the coming days.”
There were also 136 flood alerts in place, where flooding is possible, in the south, as well as eastern and north-eastern England.
One flood warning is in place in Wales, near the River Ritec at Tenby, and there are four flood alerts, near the River Thaw in south Wales, and near the River Dee in the north.
The River Thames burst its banks in Surrey on Tuesday, flooding homes, business and roads. Residents in Wraysbury, a village in Berkshire, had to leave their homes due to flooding, with people told to avoid the area.
Dave Throup, who retired from the Environment Agency (EA) in 2021, said flood defences had helped to protect homes, but were not the answer to future flooding.
In a thread on X, formerly Twitter, he said barriers would not be enough as climate change increased the frequency and ferocity of flooding. Instead, he said there needed to be natural flood management measures along the entire stretch of rivers.
The EA has said it is developing a “broad range” of actions to tackle flooding.
— CutC by bbc.com
