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Rail companies have warned of delays with hundreds of flood warnings and alerts in place, while the Met Office is forecasting plummeting temperatures and more rain
More travel chaos is set to plague the UK with more than 200 warnings and alerts threatening more floods – as the temperature drops and torrential rain continues.
Thousands of Brits were forced to flee as more than 1,000 homes flooded when river banks burst – with Storm Henk claimed two lives. A man and a woman were killed in two separate incidents earlier this week. The Met Office has forecast more downpours in the coming days – while weather charts also show the possibility of a ‘snow bomb’, with parts of the country seeing up to seven inches of snow.
Currently, 207 flood warnings and 217 alerts have been put in place by the Environment Agency, and rail companies have warned of delays and cancellations. Met Office forecaster Jason Kelly said Brits would feel the mercury drop in coming hours. He said: “The transition to lower temperatures will be noticeable over the weekend. It will become rather cold next week with lower-than-average temperatures across much of the UK, accentuated by brisk easterly winds in the south.
“As the prevailing weather conditions will be characterised by high pressure, a good deal of settled weather is likely. Clearer skies and a marked reduction in precipitation are expected, although any showers that do occur are likely to be wintry in nature. A combination of overnight freezing temperatures, saturated ground and calm winds mean increasing risks of frost, fog and icy conditions.”
The Met Office said temperatures tonight are likely to dip to -4C in parts of rural south-west England. Forecasters also said there is a chance the mercury will drip to -6C in rural areas along the Welsh border in Shropshire and north Herefordshire tomorrow night.
Rain in Cambridgeshire has caused flooding on rail lines, meaning replacement bus services are in operation – though they were unable to reach St Neots and Huntingdon railway stations overnight, reports The Sun. Network Rail was working to repair damage resulting from a landsliop near Arlesey in Bedfordshire on Thursday, along with planned engineering works.
The lines are expected to reopen by Monday with a bus replacement service in place until then. Great Western Railway suffered “significant disruption” to its services after flooding near Chipping Sodbury, while the line between Swindon and Bristol Parkway is expected to remain closed through the weekend.
The line between Theale and Taunton is likely to remain today with services continuing on alternative routes. South Western Railway, which saw much of its network affected on Friday including a landslip in Crewkerne, Somerset, said there was a “good service” today. Elsewhere, roads have been closed in and around Gloucester due to flooding and Gloucestershire.
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