Map shows where 24 flood warnings are in place across the UK

Heavy rains are expected to flood parts of the UK today, according to the Met Office.

A yellow rain warning is in place across south-west England and Wales from midnight until noon on Wednesday.

Homes and businesses could be flooded, with some interruption to power supplies and other services.

Bus and train services may also be affected, leading to longer journey times.

Floods are expected throughout the south-west and parts of eastern England

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: “We could see quite widely across western parts of the UK 10 to 20mm of rain.

‘But over those higher ground spots of parts of Wales, south-west England in particular, we could see 40 to 50 and then locally 60 or 70mm of rain.’

He said the heavy rainfall could cause some flooding.

‘This falling on the back of what has been a wet winter, wet month… we could see some flooding develop as we move through tomorrow morning.’

178 flood alerts have been issued by the Met office (Picture: Met Office)

The afternoon will bring respite from the rain, with sunny spells in parts of the country.

‘It becomes much brighter into the afternoon through Wednesday with sunny spells,’ he said.

‘It takes time to clear across some central southern parts of the UK so it might stay cloudy here and then some parts of southern England may continue to see rain through the day.’

Strong winds could also bring gales around coastal areas.

Temperatures across the country will generally range between 12C to 14C, he added.

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