Parts of southern England received more than half their monthly rainfall in just 11 hours as the remnants of Hurricane Erin brought heavy downpours between Thursday night and Friday morning. The heaviest rain fell on England's southern coast as the storm system merged with a low pressure system.
Heligan Gardens in Cornwall recorded 63mm of rain, while Mount Batten in Devon saw 56mm and Friar Waddon in Dorset received 49.9mm between 10pm Thursday and 9am Friday. These amounts represent significant portions of the regions' average August rainfall totals - Cornwall typically sees 92.5mm for the entire month, Devon 94.2mm, and Dorset 72mm.
Rescue operations and transport disruption
Fire crews rescued a family from their flooding home in Torpoint, Cornwall, with the town's fire station warning of deep flood water on the A374 from Wilcove to Antony. A landslide blocked the A379 in Modbury, Devon, while fire crews across the county responded to 15 incidents overnight, according to the BBC.
The Met Office's yellow rain warning ended at midday Friday. The RAC breakdown service reported that while the rain did not cause widespread road problems, further heavy downpours are forecast for Saturday.
Weekend weather warnings
Rain and strong winds will push through western parts of the UK during Saturday, with the precipitation expected to be heavy and persistent rather than the short-lived intense bursts recently experienced. Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said Saturday will bring 10-20mm of rain quite widely, with some western higher ground areas potentially receiving 30-40mm.
Western areas face a risk of gales, though Burkill noted it will be "a pretty blustery day" elsewhere too. The weather front is moving north-eastwards, with eastern areas becoming wetter by Saturday evening.
Sunday could bring hail, thunder and lightning to western parts of the country. Showers are forecast across most areas but will be interspersed with bright, sunny spells, according to Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey.
Record summer temperatures
The Met Office reported that this summer would "almost certainly" be the UK's warmest on record, with the mean average temperature standing at 16.13C based on data up to August 28. If confirmed, it would mean all of the UK's top five warmest summers have occurred since 2000.
The current top five warmest summers are 2018 (15.76C), 2006 (15.75C), 2003 (15.74C), 2022 (15.71C) and 1976 (15.70C). Maxey said there was "a definite autumnal feel for the last couple of days" but nothing causing particular concern.
Flood warnings and safety advice
One Environment Agency flood warning remained active Friday due to rising water levels in the rivers Shuttle and Cray in Bexley, south-east London. The agency warned that flooding of roads and low-lying land was possible, though property flooding was not expected.
Environment Agency flood duty manager Mark Garratt warned that heavy and persistent showers meant minor surface water flooding was probable across parts of the East and South East of England. He urged people not to drive through flood water, noting that just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float a car.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said the wet spell coincides with a big weekend for families returning home at the end of summer holidays. He warned that Saturday's forecast downpours could lead to difficult driving conditions despite Friday's rainfall not causing widespread road problems.
Sources used: "PA Media", "Met Office", "BBC", "RAC", "Environment Agency" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
