Yellow warnings as Storm Benjamin brings heavy rain and strong winds

The Met Office has issued multiple yellow weather warnings as Storm Benjamin, named by Météo France, moves from the English Channel across the UK on Thursday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to large parts of England and Wales. Warnings cover southern and eastern England, parts of the Midlands, Wales, Cornwall and Devon, and Yorkshire, with periods of rain and gusts expected from Wednesday night into Thursday and impacts likely on travel, infrastructure and coastal areas.

Forecasters say a deepening area of low pressure will drive a swathe of rain northeastwards, bringing widely 20 to 30 millimetres of rain and local totals of 30 to 50 millimetres by Thursday morning in some places. The Met Office warned that gusts of 45 to 55 miles per hour are probable quite widely across the warning area, with 65 to 70 miles per hour possible near exposed coasts. There is a smaller chance that isolated gusts could exceed 70 or even reach 75 miles per hour at the stronger end of forecasts, particularly late morning into the afternoon in eastern coastal locations.

Timing and coverage vary by region. Rain warnings generally come into force around midnight and run through much of Thursday,...