The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain and fog across multiple areas in England and Wales. A fog warning is in effect from Thursday evening until Friday morning, with visibility potentially dropping below 100 meters in places. This is expected to lift into low cloud by Friday morning. Concurrently, a rain warning, which began earlier on Thursday, is set to continue until Thursday night.
The fog warning specifically impacts areas in the Northwest of England, Wales, and the West Midlands. The rain warning covers large parts of the East Midlands, East of England, London and Southeast England, Southwest England, and the West Midlands. These regions can expect between 20 to 30mm of rain widely, with isolated spots potentially receiving 40 to 50mm.
The potential consequences of these weather conditions include flooding of homes and businesses, disruption to bus and train services, and longer journey times due to potential road flooding. Winds in parts of the south could reach speeds of 35 to 45mph. This follows recent severe weather, including Storm Goretti, which caused significant disruption and a major incident in Kent and Sussex due to burst water pipes and power cuts. In response to cold weather, the UK Government has activated its cold weather payments scheme, providing financial assistance to eligible households.