Heavy rains lashed Shropshire and Mid Wales today as one of the first storms of the autumn battered the region.
Parts of the UK have been warned to expect more than two weeks of rainfall in 24 hours, and forecasters say there is a risk of localised flooding across the country.
One man had to be rescued after he became stranded in floodwaters in Powys.
See our video of the rescue here.
Elsewhere in the region, a number of events have been scrapped due to the bad weather.
Shropshire Star weatherman John Warner said heavy rain was forecast with winds of up to 20mph today.
He said about an inch of rain was forecast across the county with more to come over the weekend. He said: “We are going to get pretty heavy rain today. There will be more rain over the weekend with a risk of flooding.”
Telford police press officer Chris Ammonds said: “Drivers should take care in the wet weather and ensure they are driving sensible for the conditions. Standing water on the roads can cause accidents and we would advise motorists to exercise caution.”
In Welshpool, a man had to be rescued from floodwater by an RAF helicopter, after he attempted to cross the River Rhiw in his 4×4 jeep.
The 60-year-old became stranded in the floodwater near Manafon at 3.50pm yesterday.
And the bad weather has led to the cancellation of Shrewsbury’s Battlefield Fun Ride, which was due to take place on Sunday.
The event, which usually attracts up to 300 riders, was due to start at the Battlefield 1403 Centre at 10am.
The Malpas Yesteryear Rally which was due to be held in Hampton Heath this weekend, has also been cancelled - for the first time in 36 years. But organisers of the Indian Summer concert headlined by Travis in Shrewsbury’s Quarry said it would go-ahead as planned tonight despite the weather.
A flood watch is still in place today in the Severn-Vyrnwy confluence.
Nationally, the south-west England and south Wales have been battered since the early hours and the rain is expected to head north east throughout the day, hitting Northern Ireland and the south of Scotland by mid-afternoon.
Experts warn that after an unusually wet August the ground is saturated and the risk of flooding is increased across the UK.
People in Gloucestershire are bracing themselves for another night of heavy rain after storms swept into the region, causing flash floods.
Closures
Downpours overnight and this morning led to road closures in the county and firefighters had to pump out floodwater from homes.
Severe weather warnings are also in force for Wales, the north west, north east, south west and south east of England as well as London.
6 Comments
I wonder if the gentleman who got stuck had been reading Sharon Walters aerticle on the Jeep Cherokee in which she irresponsibly claimed that SUV’s were safer?
in devon it rained all night and this am torrential rain and high winds moved up into wales and w midlands. there will be much more to come as at 18.00 hours torrential rain has started again, good luck up there, as tomorrow and sunday does not show much of an improvement. i am hoping the 7 valley railway is ok.
just when will wake up to the true cost of carbon emissions and use less energy!!
more evidence of global warming!
OMG Marcus, have you just come back from the Green Party Conference? There have always been floods. This is not the end of the world!
the planet is angry she is fighting back and telling us to stop burning fossil fuels, we must all listen to the earth and fight global warming