As travellers head home at the end of the Easter weekend, parts of the UK will be faced with heavy rain showers.
Meteorologists are expecting heavy rain with the risk of hail and thunderstorms across southern England on Easter Monday.
There are around ten flood warnings in effect across England, meaning flooding is expected, including on the River Brue in Somerset and the River Severn in Gloucestershire. There are also category 112 flood warnings.
According to the RAC and traffic analysis company Inrix, around 2.01 million leisure car journeys are made on Easter Monday.
The longest delays are expected to occur between 10am and 12pm. Drivers have been advised to wait until later in the day and travel in the evening.
Liam Eslick, a Met Office meteorologist, said there was a “risk of localized flooding” in some areas.
Mr Eslick said: “As it is a bank holiday weekend, people are travelling a lot at this time, so we recommend checking road coverage if people are travelling by car or checking bus and train timetables to see if there are any disruptions.”
The rain will continue to move north until Monday morning 🌧️
Brighter skies on both sides, but heavy rain developing in the south 🌦️ pic.twitter.com/0ZOBKVXSux
— Met Office (@metoffice) March 31, 2024
As rain can reduce visibility, drivers are urged to reduce speed and allow more time to brake on slippery road surfaces, suggesting a minimum distance of four seconds between road users.
The showers could bring between 5 and 15 mm of precipitation, meteorologists said.
Things are likely to be much better in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Even after the long weekend, the outlook remains unstable, with low pressure areas prevailing and occasional heavy rain expected.
