Parts of the East Midlands and Yorkshire have been warned that they could see further devastating floods.
The Met Office has issued a warning that there could be a danger to life in parts of the region that are still recovering from floods which began last week.
A yellow-level warning is in place for areas around Nottingham, Sheffield, Lincoln and Doncaster from 9am on Thursday – but could be ramped up later in the day.
Forecasters said wintry weather front that has dumped snow on southwest England was now moving north and east. “It’s all tied in with the same weather front,” meteorologist Steven Keates told The Independent.
In the warning area of the east midlands and south Yorkshire “the ground is obviously completely saturated”, Mr Keates said. “It’s been really wet for weeks. It’s not going to take that much rain for the rivers to respond – the water’s got nowhere to go. It’s likely there will be some renewed flooding.”
More than three dozen flood warnings are in effect across the country, with the River Don featuring heavily.
“Heavy rain is expected on Thursday, Friday and over the weekend which could lead to further flooding for communities in south Yorkshire around the lower River Don,” the Environment Agency’s flood duty manager Kate Marks said in a statement.
“Parts of Lincolnshire and the Midlands could also be affected by rain falling on already saturated ground over Thursday and Friday, as well as other parts of England as rain crosses the country from west to east.”
