Warning: Yellow

To expect: Rain

Affected areas: North East England, North West England, SW Scotland, Lothian Borders, Strathclyde

Start time estimate: Thursday 1am

End time estimate: Thursday noon

The Met Office has issued a Yellow rain warning for several regions across the UK for Thursday.

The warning is covering parts of North East England, North West England, SW Scotland, Lothian Borders, Strathclyde. All local areas affected are listed below.

The regions will be affected by heavy downpours, which is expected to start pouring on Thursday at around 1am before dying out at noon.

The Yellow warning for rain was issued at 9:18pm on Wednesday, November 12.

A Met Office forecast said: “An area of rain, heavy in places, will move northwards across northern England overnight before slowly decaying over southern Scotland Thursday morning. This is likely to bring fairly widespread totals of 15-25 mm, particularly over the far north of England and southern Scotland where a few places may receive 40-50 mm, before easing from the south.”

What to expect

Bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer; Spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer; Some interruption to power supplies and other services possible; Flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible.

What should you do during persistent rain?

Check if your property could be at risk of flooding. If so, consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit.

Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.

People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It’s easy to do: consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.

Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.

For further details see Met Office Warnings & Advice.

Full list of local areas affected

North East England
Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland

North West England
Cumbria

SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian Council, Scottish Borders, West Lothian

Strathclyde
North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire

What is a yellow weather warning?

The Met Office has three categories of weather warning, depending on the likely impact of severe weather and also how likely it is to strike in a particular area.

A yellow warning is issued when weather conditions are expected to disrupt travel and traffic and may impact on daily routines but are not likely to pose a risk to life or property.

An amber warning is more severe and advises people to think about changing their plans to minimise the risk.

A red warning means weather conditions are expected to be dangerous with widespread damage to property and a risk to life, with the public usually advised to avoid travelling.

The Yellow weather alert for rain will remain in place until noon on Thursday.