BRITAIN is set to be rocked by “miserable” floods after being inundated with heavy rainfall, drenching the nation.
The Met Office issued weather warnings after a band of rain reached Cornwall on Wednesday afternoon before it lets rip across the country over the next two days.
It will then pass over Scotland’s east coast on Friday after bringing a week of “atrocious” weather for the majority of the UK.
The Met said the Scottish Highlands could even see some snow as they issued a yellow warning for rain due to the heavy downpours.
The Environment Agency has also issued three flood warnings and 43 flood alerts, mostly across the south coast.
Up to 20 cars were trapped in a swamp of water on the A27 in West Sussex after a day of rain drowned the region on Wednesday.
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Police have been forced to close the major thoroughfare as the busy carriageway continues to flood.
Shocking footage showed motorists at a standstill while encircled by several inches of water as some drivers tried to travel through it.
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said the closure applies between the A259 west at Emsworth and A259 east at Fishbourne.
Commuters across the UK have been advised to expect “heavy delays” due to the barmy winter weather that is battering the country.
Cops in Winchester, Hampshire, also revealed a road had been blocked in Swanmore after a large tree was uprooted by the weather.
The Met Office’s first warning kicked in at 5pm, covering a southeast area stretching from Southampton and the Isle of Wight in Hampshire to the coast in Kent, until 6am on Thursday.
Brits have been advised to brace their homes and businesses as forecasters told people to expect flooding.
Another yellow rain warning will then comes into force across a large area of the UK for the whole of Thursday, from 12am until 11.59pm.
This covers an area stretching from Birmingham, Lincoln and Hull to north Wales, Liverpool and Manchester, as well as the east coast up to the Scottish border.
The Met said transport could be disrupted, roads could be deluged with water and communities could be temporarily cut off due to the extraordinary rainfall.
A third warning will come into force at 3pm on Thursday until 6pm on Friday for the east coast of Scotland, stretching from the English border up past Aberdeen with similar risks of flooding, and transport disruptions.
It brings a damp end to the working week for Brits, before snow is set to hit in a matter of days.
Met Office spokesperson Craig Snell said: “The warning areas are where we are most concerned about the risk of flooding but it doesn’t mean that the areas outside them are not going to see some pretty atrocious conditions.”
He said a warning was in place for the southeast because “it has been quite wet there since the beginning of November with many places already seeing more than their month’s share of rain”.
He added that conditions were “still going to be a pretty miserable evening for the whole of the south” and Londoners would have an “unpleasant commute home this evening”, but the wet conditions will have passed through the area by Thursday morning.
The Midlands and the north of England will have a “pretty miserable day” on Thursday after the rain sweeps in overnight, Mr Snell said.
“The rain will be accompanied by a brisk wind so it’s not going to feel good.”
But he added that Scotland could see “two days of persistent rain” and this may result in snow falling in the highlands – although this is not unusual for November.
“If you want to take a walk in the hills in Scotland tomorrow, you may come across snow but for the lower levels it is just going to be rain,” he said.
RAC breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis warned motorists to “exercise great care” during the wet weather.
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He explained: “The chances of being involved in a collision rise dramatically in wet weather, and even more so if there’s snow, so it’s vital drivers slow down, leave plenty of space behind the vehicle in front and use their lights to make sure they’re easily seen by other road users.
“The risk of aquaplaning where a vehicle’s wheels lose contact with the road as they skim across standing water will be high, particularly for those who don’t slow down to appropriate speeds for the conditions.”
