More Than 200 Flood Alerts Issued Across England And Wales; 39 Days And Nights Of Rain In The UK Since 1/1/26
More than 200 flood alerts were active across the UK on Sunday as parts of England and Wales braced for more downpours after the Met Office issued a fresh yellow warning for rain.
The warning spans noon to midnight on Monday, covering parts of southern Wales as well as south-east and south-west England. The Met Office said that “10-15mm of rain is likely fairly widely with 20-30mm in some places exposed to the strong south to south-easterly winds”.
Monday’s weather warning covers parts of England where communities are still recovering from extensive flooding caused by heavy downpours in the wake of Storm Chandra.
The Environment Agency issued 96 flood warnings across England on Sunday evening, indicating flooding was expected. A further 219 flood alerts were issued in areas where flooding was possible. Four more flood alerts were issued by Natural Resources Wales. Homes, businesses and roads could be flooded in areas covered by Monday’s warning for rain, the Met Office said, adding that travel disruption was expected.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/08/england-wales-downpours-active-flood-alerts
Rain has fallen in the UK for 39 days and 39 nights so far in 2026 but the downpours will not stop at 40, forecasters have warned. Substantial parts of England were at risk of flooding yesterday. The Environment Agency has issued more than 80 flood warnings, mostly in south-west England and the Midlands, after February continued to deliver the above-average rainfall that blighted January.
The daily drip, drip, drip has created a more pernicious form of flooding than is caused by biblical downpours during stormy weather. Instead, the accumulation of water makes the earth so soggy that homes are at risk of groundwater flooding as the water table rises – a situation facing residents in parts of Dorset, Wiltshire and Berkshire.
The sheer volume of water means it could take months for the groundwater to dissipate, according to the British Geological Survey. This weekend’s horse racing was abandoned in Newcastle, Exeter, Uttoxeter, Sandown and Bangor, but Chelmsford was scheduled to go ahead.
The wet weather is due to the northern polar jet stream above the Atlantic having shifted southwards in recent days. The air current in the upper atmosphere is often fast-flowing as it travels from the US, but has been swirling more slowly over Europe. That creates unstable local weather conditions, driving rainclouds north to the UK. Meanwhile the jet stream's centre has eddied over Portugal, Spain and Morocco, battering them with Storm Leonardo.
EDIT
https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/rising-water-table-threatens-homes-as-rain-turns-biblical
