Storm Sebastien will drench Britain again in next 24 hours

Storm Sebastien is set to drench Britain for the second day running after more than half a month’s rain fell in just 24 hours on Tuesday. 

The 900-mile-wide storm will continue to wreak havoc on the UK’s weather throughout the day – with 109 flood alerts and warnings in place ranging from the south-east of England all the way up to Aberdeenshire.

A total of 1.3 inches of rain pummelled the parish of Wattisham near Stowmarket in Suffolk in the 24 hours to 6am on Wednesday, the Met Office said – the highest volume of rainfall anywhere in the UK during that time, the Met Office said. 

Storm Sebastien is set to drench Britain for the second day running after more than half a month’s rain fell in just 24 hours

The 900-mile-wide storm will continue to wreak havoc on the UK’s weather throughout the day – with 109 flood alerts and warnings in place ranging from the south-east of England all the way up to Aberdeenshire. 

The average November rainfall for the entire region is 2.3 inches. 

Whitchurch in Cardiff recorded the second highest level of rainfall, with 1.2 inches of rain falling in 24 hours, although this represented around one fifth of the average November deluge for the area. Craibstone in Aberdeenshire received 1 inch of rainfall, while Kent saw just under that.

The Met Office said there was the prospect of further heavy rainfall across pockets of the UK on Wednesday, with yellow weather warnings in place for the south-west of England and south Wales until midday, and for Yorkshire until 6am on Thursday.

Forceful waves and strong winds gusting at up to 50mph begin to hit the Cornwall coast at Penzance on Tuesday

A tractor drives through a flooded roads in the village of Welney on the Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border on Tuesday

Meteorologist Helen Roberts said: ‘There has been quite a wide-ranging spread of places where we had heavy rainfall, but we had a reasonably significant volume in Wattisham.

‘For Wales, the 30.6mm was not that significant because the monthly average is 162mm. Most places saw some rain in the last 24 hours, and there is likely to be more on the way.’

Flooding is expected – largely across the south coast of England between Hampshire and Cornwall.  It comes as police continue work to identify a body found on a road affected by recent floods.

South Yorkshire Police said the man’s remains were found on Fordstead Lane near Barnby Dun, in the Doncaster area, on Saturday.

The road, between Barnby Dun and Arksey, was underwater for a fortnight after the River Don burst its banks earlier this month, inundating much of the surrounding area. Officers were unable to say how long the body had been in the location.

Waves crash into the Cornish coast at Penzance on Tuesday  as forecasters warn of severe conditions for parts of Britain

On Tuesday, the rivers Severn and Avon in south-west England and the Midlands burst their banks, leaving homes waterlogged in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire earlier this month.

Meanwhile, some areas in the north of England are still struggling with transport disruption caused by flooded roads.

In Derbyshire, several roads were destroyed by rain torrents, and one remained impassable on Tuesday because of a vehicle stranded in the water.

The village of Fishlake in South Yorkshire saw the worst of the flooding with half of its 700 residences evacuated. Some farmland in Lincolnshire was still under water, a fortnight after a river burst its banks following downpours.

The aftermath of tropical storm Sebastian – which began in the Atlantic – is predicted to hit this afternoon with winds gusting at up to 50mph and 22ft waves expected along coasts in the South West.