Met Office Issues over 100 Flood Alerts and Warnings Across the UK Amid Wet Weather

The Met Office has issued over 100 flood alerts and warnings across the UK amid an intense wet weather as of early week. UK weather authorities warned thousands of Britons to be prepared due to a lurking threat from dangerous floods. The flood advisories mean that people should take action against imminent or possible flooding.

UK Flood Alerts and Warnings

The Met Office issued three yellow warnings due to "persistent heavy rain" throughout Tuesday, January 10, covering most parts of Wales and northwest England, according to The Guardian.

Two of the three yellow rain warnings will stretch from Cardiff to Bangor and another covering Lancashire and southern Cumbria and remain in effect until 8:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the third yellow rain warning will be placed over western Wales until 10:00 a.m. on the same day.

In addition to the flood advisories given by the Met Office, the Natural Resources Wales has issued 20 flood alerts across the same areas covered by the UK weather agency. Furthermore, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency also issued five flood alerts across the southwest Scotland, covering the following areas:

• Argyll
• Bute
• Ayrshire
• Arran
• Central Scotland
• Dumfries
• Galloway
• West Central Scotland

In addition, there are other 89 alerts issued in areas where flooding is possible. Earlier forecasts have warned that some homes and business could be flooded in different parts of the British isle. UK meteorologists are anticipating disruption to residential and business establishments, as well as to road travel.

Power Cuts and Travel Chaos

The UK meteorological organization also warned that torrential rain threatens to bring power cuts and travel chaos due to raging floodwaters and wind gusts, as cited by the Evening Standard. The inclement weather is caused by a reported low-pressure vortex to the west, which was a result of the recent big freeze in North America.

Meteorologists expect London could be spared from the lurking flood threat but heavy rain is possible throughout Tuesday.

The short-range UK weather outlook by the Met Office is based on its "UK 5 day weather forecast," which spans from Tuesday until Saturday, January 14, a period where the general weather headline is "mild, wet, and windy."

Groundwater Flooding

While flooding comes in various form, the resounding term used by UK forecasters this week is the threat of groundwater flooding, but what is it exactly?

According to the British Geological Survey, groundwater flooding pertains to the emergence of groundwater from the ground surface and away from river channels or the rising of groundwater into man-made ground.

The UK government states that flooding from groundwater is more rampant in areas where the underground bed rock is "chalk," but it can also occur in locations with sand and gravel along the river valleys. Still, flooding, in general, is common in low-lying areas and those near bodies of water which can overflow during heavy rain.