UK weather: Met Office issues warning for TONIGHT as drivers rescued from cars & river bursts banks amid flooding chaos

THE Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for tonight as drivers had to be rescued from cars amid flooding chaos.

The weather experts now have three areas of the UK covered with warnings for tonight which stretch into the early part of Tuesday, as Storm Kathleen continues to pound parts of Britain.

Stephen Huntley/HVC

A van driver was rescued from his roof by Essex County Fire & Rescue Service this afternoon[/caption]

Met Office

Three parts of the UK are covered in yellow weather warnings which start tonight[/caption]

Stephen Huntley/HVC

A number of cars got stranded during high tide at the Strood, near Colchester, Essex[/caption]

NNP

Eastern parts of Northern Ireland are expected to be hit by heavy rain from 10pm tonight and lasting until 6am tomorrow.

Earlier, the Met Office put in place another yellow weather warning, this time for winds, covering Cornwall and northern Devon which is in place from 4pm today and lasting until 6am tomorrow.

A large part of England’s southern coast, stretching up to the most north-eastern part of Kent is also covered in a warning for strong winds which is in place from 9pm until 9am tomorrow.

Winds of up to 70mph could buffet the West Country coastline, sparking transport delays and power cuts.

Monster waves or flying debris could risk a “danger to life”, forecasters said.

Power cuts in the warning zone could also scramble mobile phone networks.

The warnings come after a van driver needed to be rescued from his roof by firefighters earlier today when four vehicles became stranded in a 3.5ft tide.

Another six people, including three children, were also stranded during the incident at Strood causeway at Mersea Island in Essex, but managed to get out before the emergency services arrived.

The high tide caused a number of cars to get stuck on the road either side of The Strood with the coastguard being called to help out.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service confirmed a man was rescued at 1.25pm, with watch manager Gary Clarke later advising people to check tide times in the area.

Nearly 300 areas are on flood watch in England, with the Environment Agency issuing 96 warnings for “expected” flooding and 202 alerts for “possible” flooding.

Three more yellow wind and rain warnings have been issued for tomorrow.

A wind warning will come into force along the south coast from Dorset to Kent at 1am tomorrow morning, lasting until midday.

Strong winds will likely bring “hazardous coastal conditions” before they push inland.

Another yellow wind warning will cover the west coast between south Wales and Blackpool from 1am until 3pm.

MET Office

The Met Office has a number of warnings in place for Tuesday[/caption]

MET Office

Parts of western Scotland are expected to be hit on Wednesday[/caption]

Alamy

Flooding in a garden and tennis courts next to the Grand Union Canal towpath in Harefield, Uxbridge[/caption]

And a third yellow rain warning will be in place for southern, central and eastern Scotland from 1am until 6pm.

Up to 60mm of rain could flood homes, businesses, transport routes and power lines throughout the warning zone.

The Met Office issued a yellow alerts for wind covering the south west coast line on Tuesday from 4pm until 6am on Wednesday.

A second wind warning covers the rest of the south coast including Portsmouth and Brighton from 9pm tomorrow until 9am on Wednesday.

There’s a third yellow weather warning for rain from 9am until 6pm on Wednesday covering central and western Scotland.

Forecasters said that the weather could turn drier in the south later this week – but it will probably stay unsettled elsewhere.

The north west will likely bear the brunt of heavy rain towards the coming weekend.

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