A YELLOW weather warning has been issued by the Met Office, with 31 flood warnings in force across the UK.
Storm Ingrid will cause further disruption with dangerous roads, power cuts and further flooding, while snow is also forecast early next week.
The weather warning has been extended to south west England and south Wales, following a separate yellow warning in Scotland.
For Saturday, the Met Office said: “Storm Ingrid will slowly drift northwards over the Celtic Sea during Saturday, with bands of frequent heavy showers revolving around its centre, merging into longer spells of rain at times.”
In eastern Scotland, the yellow weather warning for rain continues into tomorrow.
The agency warned heavy rain could also be followed by the possibility of snow for some at the beginning of next week.
“Cold weather, especially for those in the northeast, is on the cards with the potential for snowfall accumulations in places,” it said.
In the worst affected regions, 50mm of rain is expected to fall, while in other areas this is anticipated to reach 20-40mm.
The agency warned the heavy rain could lead to power cuts and interruption to other services.
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said low pressure would continue to bring “gusty winds and spells of at times heavy rain into the south and south Wales”.
This could also bring wet and windy weather into Northern Ireland, he noted.
Along the coast, winds may also approach gale-force speeds, as they did yesterday.
The Met Office also warned people in these areas to expect delays to transport services, with some roads becoming “impassable”, as well as “flooding of a few homes and businesses”.
The regions affected include Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Cardiff, Caerphilly, Newport, Pembrokeshire and Swansea, among others.
Flooding is also anticipated to hit many parts of the UK, even outside of the weather warning regions.
There are 31 flood warnings in force across the country, where flooding is “expected”.
The Environment Agency have also released a further 155 flood alerts in areas where flooding is “possible”.
McGivern also forecast further disruptive weather in Scotland, though not related to Storm Ingrid.
“Eastern and northeastern Scotland continuing to see strong south-easterly winds, coastal gales, persistent rain and prolonged hill and mountain snow,” he predicted.
There is also a yellow weather warning for “heavy rain” in place for parts of eastern Scotland, where further wet conditions after 3 days of deluges means flooding is also a risk.
Affected regions include Angus, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
