Homes and businesses are likely to be flooded in south-west England, the Met Office has warned, as Storm Chandra brings torrential rain and high winds to parts of the UK on Monday night and Tuesday.
Forecasters said travel disruption was likely in some areas and there could be significant falls of snow across higher ground in parts of northern England and Scotland. Several weather warnings have been issued, including amber ones for south-west England and the eastern coast of Northern Ireland for rain and wind respectively.
A search was continuing on Monday for a kayaker missing after getting into difficulty in the River Exe at Tivertonin Devon on Saturday. Police said the kayak had been found.
A body recovered from the sea off Exmouth in Devon on Sunday is thought to be that of Matthew Upham, one of two swimmers who went missing on Christmas Day. Formal identification is yet to be carried out, but officers said the family of a 64-year-old man from Budleigh Salterton had been informed.
Parts of south-west England are still coping with the fallout from Storm Goretti earlier this month. Winds of 99mph (160km/h) hit the Isles of Scilly and thousands of people in Cornwall were left without power, water and internet. The storm also brought down thousands of trees.
The Met Office said Storm Chandra would bring wet and windy conditions on Monday and into Tuesday. Gusty winds would impact the Isles of Scilly, western Cornwall and south-west Wales before moving north up the Irish Sea where eastern parts of Northern Ireland would experience gusts of up to 75mph.
Heavy rain could be a hazard as it was expected to fall on areas that had already had persistent wet weather in recent days, the Met Office said. It predicted 30-50mm (1.2-2in) of rain could fall widely, with up to 60-80mm over the higher ground of south Dartmoor in Devon.
Yellow warnings for snow have been issued for Scotland and northern England where 2-5cm could fall widely within the warning areas and as much as 10-20cm could accumulate at elevations over 500 metres.
The Met Office chief forecaster, Paul Gundersen, said: “Storm Chandra will bring a range of hazards to the UK through Monday night and Tuesday.”
By 11am on Monday, the Environment Agency (EA) had 21 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – in place for England and 99 flood alerts, where flooding is possible. Natural Resources Wales had issued two flood alerts.
The EA’s flood duty manager, Chris Wilding, said: “Due to the arrival of Storm Chandra, significant surface water flooding impacts are probable today and tomorrow in the south-west of England, and tomorrow there is a significant risk of river flooding impacts too.
“Elsewhere, it is possible that there will be impacts across parts of the north, south and south-east of England tomorrow. Environment Agency teams are out on the ground, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding and support those communities affected. We urge people not to drive through flood water. It is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”
Cornwall council said flooding was likely because the ground was already saturated.“If you live in a flood-risk area, you should take steps now to protect your property,” it said.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents called on people to avoid unnecessary travel, especially in areas under amber warnings or where flooding was likely.
