Home UK Politics World US Money Science, Climate & Tech Ents & Arts Programmes Puzzles Videos Analysis Data x Forensics Offbeat Weather document.currentScript.parentNode.config = {"id":"leaderboard","ad-type":"leaderboard","test-id":"advert-unit--leaderboard-full-bleed","targeting":{"platform":"live","advert-targeting":"'platform': 'live'","artId":"13504847"},"size":{"mobile":[[320,50],[300,50]],"tablet":[[728,90]],"desktop":[[728,90],[970,250]]}} Fresh heavy rain warning issued amid hundreds of flood alerts There are also 89 flood warnings in place, according to the Environment Agency.
Sunday 8 February 2026 13:00, UK
Why you can trust Sky News The Met Office has issued a fresh weather warning for heavy rain, with more than 200 flood alerts still in place.
The new yellow warning is for large parts of southern England and South Wales, and lasts from 12pm on Monday to midnight. Up to 30mm of rain is predicted to fall in some places.
Affected areas include Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Southampton and West Sussex.
In southwest England, areas include Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset, with Cardiff, Swansea and Newport among affected areas in Wales.
See the weather forecast in your area
The Met Office said: "Bands of rain and heavy showers will move east across southern parts of England and Wales during Monday afternoon and evening."
It added: "10-15mm of rain is likely fairly widely with 20-30mm in some places exposed to the strong south to southeasterly winds."
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The warning forecasts spray and flooding on roads "probably making journey times longer".
Bus and train services will probably be impacted with flooding of a few homes and businesses possible, it added.
Broadcast meteorologist
• Aberdeen has had zero hours of sunshine since 21 January. It's the longest sunless period there since 1957.
• Sheffield has had zero hours of sunshine so far this month.
• Katesbridge had its wettest February day on record on 5 February - 67.2mm in 24 hours, beating the previous February site record of 42.2mm in 1985.
• It's rained every day for the last 37 days in the UK - every day so far this year.
• Several sites across the UK haven't had an entirely dry day since 30 December, which would mean rain on Sunday would be the 40th consecutive day.
• Exeter Airport has not had a dry day since 31 December.
• The UK as a whole has had below-average sunshine hours for winter so far.
• Rainfall has been quite varied depending on where you live. For example, Eastern Scotland has been very wet, Western Scotland very dry.
There will also be a chance of some interruption to power supplies and other services, it continued.
Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has 89 flood warnings in place, mostly across southwest England and the East and West Midlands.
1:07 Enable javascript to share Share As relentless rain continues to soak the UK, Sky News' meteorologist says there is not end in sight. There are also 218 flood alerts. A flood warning means flooding is expected, and an alert means flooding is possible.
The Met Office said on Thursday that rain had fallen every day of 2026 so far in southwest England and South Wales.
There has been 50% more rainfall than usual in both, the forecaster added.
Both have experienced a far wetter than average January.
Broadcast meteorologist
So far, February is continuing where January left off - grey and wet. Cornwall had its wettest January on record and other parts of the British Isles weren't far behind. If you feel the rain has been relentless, you'd be right. Many places, including Exeter Airport, have recorded rainfall every single day this year.
And all that cloud means very little sunshine, adding to the gloomy feel. Aberdeen went nearly two weeks without a glimmer of brightness, and at the moment eastern Scotland has recorded just 1% of their monthly sunshine for February.
In just the first five days of February, the city of Aberdeen has also recorded more than their usual monthly rainfall. And the Isle of Wight isn't far behind, currently at 97% of their February rainfall and rising. For context, you would expect them to be around 18% at this stage of the month.
So what's going on? The culprit, as it often the case with our weather, is the jet stream. This fast-moving ribbon of air high in our atmosphere steers areas of low pressure around on the ground.
Instead of flowing nicely from west to east, it's currently meandering down to the south and this wavy jet has led to blocked weather patterns. Scandinavia is under a large area of high pressure, with settled and largely dry conditions, but we've been stuck with low after low, and a dominant southeasterly airflow has sent bands of showery rain northwards across the country.
The jet stream's southerly position has also meant a lot more rain across southern parts of the UK. It turns out northwest Scotland has been quietly enjoying the best of the dry and bright weather.
When is it going to improve? There will be some drier and brighter spells between the rainbands but the overall unsettled outlook continues right into next month, not good news for those places already struggling.
Until the weather pattern "unblocks", there is more rain to come. And things could turn colder with a risk of wintry hazards towards the end of next week.
If it's any consolation, we're not alone with these exceptional rainfall totals. A succession of storms has battered Iberia, with Storm Marta the latest to affect Portugal, Spain and Gibraltar this weekend, following on a very wet January which saw some places receive three times the normal rainfall.
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Sarah Cook, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: "Our thoughts are with all those affected by the ongoing impacts of Storm Chandra, including those whose homes and businesses have sadly been flooded.
"Significant ongoing groundwater flooding impacts remain probable in parts of Dorset and Wiltshire, with minor impacts probable for parts of Hampshire for the next five days, and West Sussex from Saturday.
"Environment Agency teams are out on the ground, to reduce the impact of flooding and support those communities affected. We urge people not to drive through flood water - it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car."
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