The Met Office has issued a yellow rain warning for large swaths of the UK, with "travel disruption and flooding in places" to be expected.
The alert, which could bring with it up to 80mm of rainfall, begins at 12pm today and is in effect until 11.59pm tonight.
The national weather forecaster also cautioned that thunderstorms are also likely, as the poor weather batters much of the north of England.
Affected regions include Blackpool, Durham, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, and North and West Yorkshire.
Met Office issues urgent warning as 80mm of rain and thunderstorms to strike in HOURSMet Office"There is a slight chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses," the Met Office has warned.
Flooding is also a possibility, with damage occurring as a result of excessive water.
Transport services will likely be impacted, with bus and train journey times taking longer.
They continued: "Spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer, possibly resulting in a few road closures."
WEATHER LATEST:
⚠️ Yellow weather warning issued ⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) October 16, 2024
Heavy rain across parts of northern England
Valid 12:00 to 23:59 Wednesday
Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/ufdmrELwKA
"There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater," the Met Office warned.
Issuing the warning, the weather office said: "Areas of rain, heavy in places, are likely to push north across the warning area, with a few places perhaps getting a longer spell of quite intense rainfall.
"If and where this happens, we could see 50-80mm of rain falling within around 6 hours, although a lot of places will probably see closer to 20mm. Isolated thunderstorms are possible."
It is not the only yellow warning in place for the UK, as dreary weather is currently battering Wales, the Midlands, and the South West.
A rainfall chart showing the 24-hour precipitation in mm across the UK
WXCharts
An identical yellow rain warning is currently in place. It began 6pm yesterday and will end at 9pm tonight.
Describing the 24-hour-plus alert, the weather office said: "Areas of heavy rain are expected to develop and push north across the warning area. The first area of rain will continue north this morning, then a second area pushes northeastwards this afternoon before clearing during the evening.
"Many places will see around 10-20mm of rain, but there is a chance some locations may see considerably more than this over a 6-hour period, most likely parts of southwest England and south Wales. A few places may see 50-80 mm of rainfall in 6 hours. Isolated thunderstorms are also possible in the south of the warning area, with lightning an additional hazard."