Weather alerts issued by Met Office for five days of heavy rain

WEATHER warnings for five days of heavy rain have been issued for the New Forest and Christchurch.

The patch has been included by the Met Office in a series of updated regional yellow alerts – the lowest level – from today (Wednesday) until Sunday.

Flooding of a few homes and businesses in the wider affected areas is likely, it said, and bus, train and car journeys could be delayed, and communities cut off.

The first wave of bad weather is predicted to bring 20-50mm of rain over across the south and south-west of Britain between about 2pm and midday on Friday.

The Met Office said: "Several periods of heavy rain are likely from Wednesday afternoon until early Friday.

"Some drier periods are likely in between the spells of rain and the longevity of these is uncertain, but the overall accumulation of rain on saturated ground is likely to lead to flooding in places."

A second two-day blast of rain is forecast to hit the south-east coast, including the New Forest but missing Christchurch, during Saturday and Sunday.

It said: "Further spells of heavy rain and showers are possible through the weekend.

"Whilst amounts of rain are not expected to be particularly large, 10-15 mm and perhaps up to 30 mm in places, falling onto highly saturated ground makes flooding more probable."

Met Office advice for drivers is to slow down and increase the gap between the vehicle in front. Do not attempt to ford flooded roads, it added, and give more room to vulnerable travellers such as riders on motorbike or bicycles.

This week there have also been several alerts by the Environment Agency, with flooding expected yesterday near the River Avon between Ringwood and Christchurch.

Residents near the River Blackwater at Wellow and Landford were also urged to be prepared.

This story was amended on 18th December 2019 after an update by the Met Office.