Britain faces further flooding misery as two inches of rain falls today

This week’s largely crisp and dry autumn weather has been a merciful break following the seemingly incessant deluge.

But all that changes today with more rain threatening a repeat of the catastrophic flooding earlier in the month.

After days of biting winds and overnight frosts, parts of the country face the return of downpours which turned areas of Yorkshire and the East Midlands into inland seas just a fortnight ago.

A yellow weather warning came into force yesterday afternoon in the South West.

Areas of high ground such as Dartmoor face having to cope with up to 2in (50mm) of rain by the time it finally stops this afternoon- more than a third of the monthly average for November.

This afternoon parts of the Midlands and Northern England – the areas worst hit by flooding a fortnight ago – will come under a separate yellow warning as another 2in of rain is threatened.

The downpours will be accompanied by strong winds across much of the country, bringing the likelihood of power cuts and travel disruption.

However there will be some relief from temperatures which even overnight will be at least 10C (50F) in many areas.

After days of biting winds and overnight frosts, parts of the country face the return of downpours which turned areas of Yorkshire and the East Midlands into inland seas just a fortnight ago. Tomorrow sees the rain clouds clear for most, only to return in some parts of the country

Areas of the country not covered by weather warnings are expected to see cloudy, damp conditions today with temperatures feeling milder than in recent days. Tomorrow is not expected to see the same volume of rain, but the unsettled weather continues into next week, bringing further spells of heavy rain

Met Office chief meteorologist Neil Armstrong warned the worst-hit areas would face chaos.

‘There is likely to be surface water flooding in places and driving may be difficult because of the spray on roads,’ he said yesterday.

‘Bus and train services could be affected, and there is an increased risk that homes and businesses could flood.

‘The rain will be heavy at times before slowly dying out during Saturday afternoon.’

The warnings came as two people died after a tree fell on their car in Gloucestershire on Thursday evening, with police saying the weather was a line of inquiry into the deaths.

Residents of areas around Doncaster such as the drowned village of Fishlake have barely begun cleaning up after floodwaters receded, with many residents discovering to their horror that their insurance policies did not cover flooding.

So far this month Nottinghamshire has seen the most rain of all UK counties compared with the average, having seen 189 per cent of its monthly average already.

Yesterday there were still 45 flood alerts and six flood warnings in place across England stretching from Cornwall to Scarborough.

Areas of the country not covered by weather warnings are expected to see cloudy, damp conditions today with temperatures feeling milder than in recent days.

Tomorrow is not expected to see the same volume of rain, but the unsettled weather continues into next week, bringing further spells of heavy rain.

However, the Met Office is currently predicting an area of high pressure building from around Iceland later in the week, bringing colder, drier conditions and a return of overnight frosts.

This afternoon parts of the Midlands and Northern England – the areas worst hit by flooding a fortnight ago – will come under a separate yellow warning as another 2in of rain is threatened

Residents of areas around Doncaster such as the drowned village of Fishlake have barely begun cleaning up after floodwaters receded, with many residents discovering to their horror that their insurance policies did not cover flooding