An 800-mile-wide 24-hour blitz of rain will batter Britain as three Atlantic storms combine to soak the country. A month's worth of rain is set to fall in just one day
Three Atlantic rainstorms in a week will bring a floody awful start to winter, starting with an 800-mile-wide 24-hour downpour dumping four inches of rain.
After -7C lows and ice on Sunday, 24 flood alerts and warnings were issued as rain is forecast to soak the West from 9pm on Sunday (November 30) to 9pm on Monday. A month's rain is set to fall in a day, on ground which is already sodden.
There is even the chance of more snow. South Wales and North-West England are due to get drenched by up to four inches of rain, with up to two inches in South-West England. The Environment Agency warned of floods. Roads and rail lines are expected to be submerged.
The soaking is the first of three slow-moving low-pressure areas due to stall over the UK this week, with a second rainmaker system due through Thursday and Friday, and a third hitting on Saturday and Sunday. All parts of the nation will be hit, with two inches of rain this week, even in the East.
Netweather forecaster Nick Finnis said: "Various rain warnings have been issued. Plenty of rain and an increase in flood risks are on the way."
It comes after Christmas shoppers were soaked as high streets were deluged on Saturday, on the stores' busiest weekend of the year.
A Met Office forecaster said: "Monday will see disruptive weather for many. The risk of impactful heavy rain, strong winds and even wintry showers is high.
"The most likely pattern this week is successive areas of low pressure moving in from the west and becoming slow-moving. This means longer spells of rain, with almost anywhere seeing some heavy rainfall at times, but the greatest chance of wet conditions will be in the West.
"Snowfall is most likely over higher ground in the North. Strong winds are also a possibility, more likely in western areas."
The Environment Agency said: "Local flooding from rivers and surface water is probable for parts of England on Monday and Tuesday, and possible more widely, due to heavy and persistent rainfall. Properties may flood and there may be travel disruption."
Richard Preece, Natural Resources Wales's duty tactical manager, said: "With some rivers already swollen and the ground saturated, we expect to see a number of flood alerts and warnings."