Heavy rain could cause travel delays, the Met Office warns

Heavy rain overnight could cause transport problems in southern England and Wales, forecasters warn.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain from 6pm on Tuesday until 10am on Wednesday, as well as one for fog further north.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said the wet weather meant there was “the potential for travel delays and poor driving conditions” on Wednesday morning.

He added: “There could be a lot of spray on the roads and some difficult driving conditions as we get underway on Wednesday morning. There may also be delays in public transport.”

The weatherman said the weather was more “typical” for October than that of Storm Babette, adding that the storm was “thankfully long gone”.

Mr Snell said: “It could be a bit of a tough rush hour, first thing, but the rain will be off the road and certainly nowhere near the scale of what we've seen further north.”

The forecaster said much of the south coast of England and south Wales was likely to receive 15-25mm of rain.

He added that some areas along the Bristol Channel and the English Channel could receive 50-60mm of rain, but this “would be very localized”.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Met Office extended the yellow weather warning area west and north-west to parts of south Wales and south-west England.

It also moved it south to the southeast, removing most of East Anglia from the warning area.

In its warning, the weather service predicts bus and train services are likely to be affected “with journey times taking longer”.

It also says flooding to a few homes and businesses is “likely.”

The yellow fog warning was issued just before 3am on Wednesday and lasts until 11am with the Met Office predicting fog will be “dense in places” and lead to disruption.

The warning covers eastern England, from East Anglia to the north of Hull and extends into the Midlands to cover north-east Wales and north-east England around Manchester.

At least seven people are believed to have died in incidents linked to Storm Babette, with hundreds forced to flee their homes in Scotland and north-east England.

Around 1,250 properties in England were flooded during the storm, according to the Environment Agency.

A total of 13 areas broke daily rainfall records for October last week, including locations in Suffolk, South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Wiltshire, Kincardineshire, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Northumberland, Derbyshire and Humberside, the Met Office said.