Storm Chandra is expected to bring flooding to south-west England, warns the Met Office 

Storm Chandra will rain down torrential rain and high winds upon some of the UK on Monday night and Tuesday, which is why the Met Office has warned that homes and businesses are likely to be flooded across south-west England.

The forecasters anticipated that travel would be hampered in certain regions and that falls of snow would be severe on the higher ground in some parts of North England and Scotland. Various weather warnings have been issued, containing amber warnings, for south-west England and the eastern coast of Northern Ireland on rain and wind, respectively.

South-west England continues to deal with the consequences of Storm Goretti that occurred earlier this month. The Isles of Scilly experienced winds of up to 99mph (160km/h) and thousands of people were left without power, water and internet. Thousands of trees were also blown down by the storm.

The Met Office chief forecaster, Paul Gundersen, said: “Storm Chandra will bring a range of hazards to the UK through Monday night and Tuesday.”

The Isles of Scilly, western Cornwall and south-west Wales would be affected by gusty winds, which would subsequently travel north up the Irish Sea, where eastern sections of Northern Ireland would be affected by gusts of up to 75mph. 

Rain might also be a threat because the rains were projected to fall in places that had already experienced several wet days in the past few days, the Met Office had predicted. It forecasted 30-50mm (1.2-2in) of rain, which might be scattered about, and amounting to 60-80mm in the elevated areas of South Dartmoor, in Devon. 

Scotland and the North of England have been put on yellow warnings as 2-5cm of snow could fall across the entire warning regions and up to 10-20cm could be received at higher altitudes of above 500 metres.

The EA’s flood duty manager, Chris Wilding, said: “Due to the arrival of Storm Chandra, significant surface water flooding impacts are probable today and tomorrow in the south-west of England, and tomorrow there is a significant risk of river flooding impacts too.

“Elsewhere, it is possible that there will be impacts across parts of the north, south and south-west of England tomorrow. Environment Agency teams are out on the ground, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding and support those communities affected. We urge people not to drive through floodwater. It is often deeper than it looks, and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”

Cornwall council said flooding was likely because the ground was already saturated. “If you live in a flood-risk area, you should take steps now to protect your property,” it said.