Britain’s prolonged spell of wet weather is showing little sign of easing, with forecasters warning that heavy rain is set to continue into next week and flood alerts remaining in force across large parts of the country.
The Environment Agency has issued 85 flood warnings in England, indicating that flooding is expected, particularly in the south-west and the Midlands. In addition, 245 flood alerts have been put in place, meaning flooding is possible in areas stretching from North Yorkshire to Cornwall and from the Welsh borders to Norfolk.
Natural Resources Wales has issued 11 flood alerts, while Scotland currently has one flood warning and five flood alerts in effect.
The Met Office said further showers are expected on Sunday, especially in western areas, while parts of Scotland are likely to see persistent rain and drizzle. Looking ahead, forecasters predict that from Monday to Wednesday conditions will remain largely cloudy, with spells of torrential rain interspersed with occasional drier periods.
The UK has now recorded rainfall on every day for the past 37 days. According to Sky News, Aberdeen has not seen any sunshine since 21 January, while Sheffield has yet to record any hours of sunshine this month. In the first three days of February alone, the south-east received almost a third of its average rainfall for the entire month.
Dan Stroud, an operational meteorologist with the Met Office, said: “Unfortunately, there’s no end in sight.”
The impact of the persistent rainfall is being felt across sectors. Newcastle Racecourse announced that its Sunday meeting had been abandoned “due to the track being waterlogged with some false patches and no prospect of sufficient improvement in the next 24 hours” after “13mm of rain in the last 24 hours and 56mm rain in the past week”.
Earlier this week, the Met Office confirmed that rain has fallen every day of 2026 so far in the south-west and south Wales. Both regions have recorded around 50% more rainfall than usual for January.
The continued downpours have raised concerns about further flooding, particularly in vulnerable low-lying areas and along river catchments already saturated by weeks of rain.
While the current conditions are extreme, records show that the UK’s wettest February occurred in 2020, when 213.7mm of rain fell during a month marked by Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis.
With rivers swollen, ground conditions deteriorating and more rain forecast, authorities are urging residents in affected areas to remain alert and prepared as the country faces yet another week of unsettled weather.
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