Parts of the UK are braced for the possibility of flash floods as the country braves a deluge of thundery rainstorms.
The Environment Agency issued ten flood warnings yesterday, although only one remains in force today. There are also 32 less serious flood alerts in force.
The West Midlands had some of the worst weather. Parts of south Birmingham ended up under water after almost an inch of rain fell over a six-hour period. Local fire and rescue services received more than 900 emergency calls on Thursday night, the Birmingham Mail reports.
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Several families were forced to evacuate their homes in the worst affected areas, which include Selly Oak, Stirchley, and Bournville. Localised flooding was also reported in nearby Dudley.
Train services around Birmingham were delayed or cancelled due to the adverse weather. Trains between Birmingham and Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth are still facing disruption this morning.
Fifteen out of the 32 flood alerts are in the Midlands, along with the sole, more serious flood warning. The Met Office says the region can expect to see more "torrential downpours" today, although "unlike preceding days, the area affected is expected to recede southwards and eastwards through the day".
Earlier this week, internet provider TalkTalk blamed flash flooding in the Midlands for a service disruption that left many customers unable to access their emails.
There are also flood alerts in place in Anglia, the north-west and the south-east of England.
UK weather: Is Britain set for an Indian summer?
21 September 2015
For the past two weeks, large swathes of the country have been enjoying unseasonably warm and dry weekends, despite grey skies and showers dominating much of the working week. It's a state of affairs that seemed too good to last but could an Indian summer be on the way?
According to the Met Office, it will be a glum and drizzly week for much of the country again, until – like clockwork – the sun perks up on Friday and looks set to continue its welcome reappearance into Sunday.
Temperatures this week could go as high as 25 degrees Celsius, The Independent claims. The newspaper's independent weather expert claims that "virtually all" of the country will see "an extended run of the fine, dry, sunny and warmer seasonal average weather". The Met Office has cast some doubt on these claims by giving a more unsettled forecast for the days ahead, although it does predict a warm, dry end to the week.
The rest of the month is predicted to be mostly dry, with most of the wet weather concentrated in the north of England and Scotland. Even the first half of October will see fine – even warm – weather in most of the country, reports the Met Office, before the inevitable autumn showers get going in earnest around the middle of the month.
Try as one might to extend summer indefinitely, there'll soon be a couple of telltale signs that the cool season is creeping in. Parts of the UK can expect overnight fog by the beginning of October, a sure forerunner of dark and misty mornings. And although the daytime temperature is likely to remain comfortable for the next fortnight, the mercury will start creeping downwards at night, with the potential for morning frosts.
