Major incident declared: Flood warnings as heavy rain returns

Major flooding continues to break out across the United Kingdom, with weather and flood warnings in place as Nottinghamshire declares a major incident.

Heavy rain along the southern English coastline this afternoon and continued showers across much of the UK prompted around 500 flood warnings to be issued, primarily across England today.

Although not all areas see a return of torrential rainfall, which is largely confined to the south and south-east of England, many areas have seen soil saturated with rainfall from Storm Henk. Making repeated flooding from fresh rainfall more likely, even with lesser amounts.

A major incident has been declared by Nottinghamshire County Council as the River Trent approaches record high levels. Key tributaries, such as the River Derwent and River Dove, are already receding. However, the Trent itself is swelling, with high water levels running down the river increasingly making flooding likely.

The current record high for the Trent 5.5 m recorded in November 2000. In Worcester, flood barriers are being installed along the River Severn which is likely to peak on Friday morning with the potential to also set a record-high.

Elsewhere, Great Western Railway says that any commuters heading to Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, or Wiltshire today should travel as soon as possible with disruption to lines expected later today.

With weather warnings in place until the early hours of Friday, there may be more disruption ahead. Strong gusting winds begin to build again into the evening, strongest on the south coast. On the Channel Islands, gusts reaching up to 74 mph are likely.

Torrential rainfall is already falling across the southern coast, and will push north-east into East Anglia, brushing parts of the East Midlands, into the evening.

There is some potential for thunderstorms to develop, however it currently appears that these will be restricted offshore in the English Channel.

Follow events as they develop with the WeatherRadar and WindRadar.