As many as 52 areas in the UK could be hit with power cuts, the loss of mobile phone signal and travel disruption due to heavy rain storms on Saturday and Sunday, the Met Office has warned.
The forecaster has issued a yellow weather warning covering a 21-hour period in the UK starting at 9am on Saturday, September 20 and continuing until 6am on Sunday, September 21 citing heavy rain.
The warning crosses England, Scotland and Wales, with several cities affected including Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bradford, St David’s and Lancaster. The warning affects 52 areas in total, mostly concentrated in the north of England, as well as the entire coast of Wales and parts of Scotland.
The Met Office says that the yellow weather warning could bring power cuts to the affected areas, as well as a danger to life and travel disruption.
The forecaster said: “Rainfall will spread northeastwards on Saturday, and become persistent and at times heavy. Through this period 20-40 mm of rain is expected to fall widely, with some locations perhaps seeing 75-100 mm, with much of this total falling in the later hours of the event. From mid-Saturday onwards, increasingly strong gusty winds and perhaps some thunder will also accompany the rainfall, further increasing the risk of disruption.
“By the early hours of Sunday, persistent heavy rain will have likely cleared from Wales, with this rain [will ease] for Northern England and Scotland by dawn on Sunday morning. Showers then follow and winds remain strong through Sunday.”
It added in its warning: “There is a slight chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses. There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings. Where flooding occurs, there is a slight chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus services. Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures. There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life.”
It added: “People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It’s easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.”
The full list of areas affected by the yellow weather warning is:
- Falkirk
- Fife
- Darlington
- Durham
- Gateshead
- Hartlepool
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- North Tyneside
- Northumberland
- Redcar and Cleveland
- South Tyneside
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Sunderland
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Blackpool
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Cumbria
- Greater Manchester
- Halton
- Lancashire
- Merseyside
- Warrington
- Dumfries and Galloway
- East Lothian
- Edinburgh
- Midlothian Council
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
- East Ayrshire
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Renfrewshire
- Glasgow
- Inverclyde
- North Ayrshire
- North Lanarkshire
- Renfrewshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- West Dunbartonshire
- Carmarthenshire
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Flintshire
- Gwynedd
- Isle of Anglesey
- Pembrokeshire
- Powys
- Wrexham
- North Yorkshire
- West Yorkshire
