Heavy rain has caused significant flooding in parts of Scotland and England - much of Cumbria saw around a month's worth of rain by the end of Thursday with as much as 250 mm over the fells.

The Met Office issued a “danger to life” warning for Cumbria on Thursday where some areas saw up to 13 inches of rain in 24 hours.

Currently there are 12 flood warnings in place in England where flooding is expected and 38 flood alerts where flooding is possible - 32 flood warnings have been removed in the last 24 hours

According to the flood warning service provided by the Met Office and the Environment Agency, further flooding is expected from rivers and surface water today (Friday) and just from rivers tomorrow (Saturday) in parts of Cumbria.

Local flooding is also:

• probable from surface water and possible from rivers in parts of Wales and the west of England today and tomorrow
• probable from surface water and possible from rivers in the south of England and parts of the south of Wales on Sunday
• probable from surface water and possible from rivers in parts of the north-west of England and north Wales on Sunday into Monday.
• possible from rivers in parts of the north of England on Sunday through to Tuesday
• possible but not expected from rivers and surface water in parts of the south of England on Tuesday

The areas covered by flood warnings include Cockermouth, Workington and Egremont where river levels remain very high.

Ben Lukey, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

“Our thoughts are with local residents in Cumbria, who have sadly experienced the effects of the heavy and persistent we have seen. We are urging people to remain vigilant as surface water and river flooding could still bring disruption to further communities in parts of Cumbria.

“Environment Agency teams have been out on the ground clearing grilles and screens where flood debris can build up and impede river flows, and stand ready to operate flood defences if needed. Working with our partners in local resilience forums, we are supporting emergency response to keep people safe where flooding does occur.”

Honister Pass in Cumbria recorded 361.6mm of rainfall in just under 36 hours. An amber and a number of yellow National Severe Weather Warnings for rain are still in place across parts of England and Scotland with rain continuing across northwest England and southwest Scotland as well as affecting western Wales and the South West of England.

In Scotland, a “major incident” was declared in the Borders town of Hawick which saw homes and businesses evacuated after torrential rain swelled the rivers Tweed and Teviot yesterday, while restrictions and dozens of flood warnings in place saw train cancellations to Glasgow ahead of the upcoming COP26 climate summit.

According to Met Office Chief Meteorologist Andy Page, strong south westerly winds, a ‘conveyor belt’ of warm air and a slow moving weather front, have resulted in very large amounts of rainfall in some parts of the UK during the last 36 hours.