Flood-hit Britain faced train chaos this morning after Storm Conall swept in with half a month’s worth of downpours and strong winds.
The Met Office said up to 2in (50mm) of rain could fall across the Isle of Wight, Sussex and Kent with a yellow warning in place for the South East until midday.
Rail operators including Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway, Southeastern and South Western Railway reported disruption due to flooding or fallen trees.
Thameslink issued a ‘do not travel warning’ for passengers trying to get through London due to heavy rain flooding the railway between Blackfriars and St Pancras.
More than 250 flood alerts or warnings remained in place today following 82mph Storm Bert last weekend – including 147 alerts and 99 warnings for England from the Environment Agency, plus four alerts and four warnings across Wales.
Separately, an ongoing signalling failure meant there were no Elizabeth line trains between Abbey Wood and London Paddington today for a second day in a row.
Underground lines also faced major disruption with the Circle line suspended and the District line part-suspended due to a fire alert at High Street Kensington, while the Hammersmith and City line had severe delays due to power supply problems.
Meteorologists said much of the warning area will see 15mm (0.6in) to 20mm (0.8in) of rain with 30mm (1.2in) to 40mm (1.6in) in some areas over a 14-hour period.
A cyclist attempts to travel through floodwater along Euston Road in London this morning
Traffic struggles through flood-hit streets in London today, including on Euston Road
Vehicles make a splash as they are driven through floodwater on Euston Road in London today
A new Met Office map has indicated where the worst hit areas of the UK are expected to be
The downpours will then ease and clear by early afternoon, but disruption to travel and infrastructure has been deemed ‘likely’ given the recent torrential rain.
The average rainfall for November in southern England is 87.1mm. On the Isle of Wight, the average is 107.2mm, while it is 106mm in Sussex and 82.6mm in Kent.
The worst of today’s rail disruption was through Central London where Thameslink told passengers ‘do not travel this morning’ after heavy rain flooded the railway between Blackfriars and St Pancras – meaning all lines were blocked.
Meanwhile South Western Railway said the downpours had flooded the railway at Bagshot in Surrey and between Guildford and Ash, while a tree had fallen on the line at Romsey in Hampshire.
Southeastern said heavy rain flooding the railway near Tonbridge in Kent meant all lines were closed, while flooding caused by Bert at Northampton meant all lines continued to blocked – affecting Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway services through the area.
The Met Office issued a yellow rain warning from 10pm last night until 12pm today
The storm will deepen further after crossing the UK to bring strong winds to the Netherlands
Great Western Railway said services between Exeter St Davids, Okehampton and Barnstaple in Devon were suspended due to flooding in the Crediton area.
In addition, there was still Bert-related disruption on GWR services between Paddington and South Wales via Bristol Parkway, and through Newbury.
The latest storm, called Conall, is the third of the season and was named by the Dutch Weather Service KNMI, which along with the Met Office and Met Eireann in Ireland name storms so communication about severe weather is easier.
A ‘danger to life’ severe flood warning was still in place at Billing Aquadrome holiday park and the surrounding parks next to the River Nene in Northampton.
Chris Wilding, of the Environment Agency, said ‘significant flooding impacts’ are probable in parts of Northamptonshire, with ‘minor’ flooding on the River Severn.
Conditions are not expected to worsen in Yorkshire and the West Midlands over the next few days.
Additional minor river and surface water flooding is also ‘probable’ in parts of the South and East of England through today, Mr Wilding said.
It comes as the Met Office insisted it will learn lessons from Bert after criticism over its ‘incompetence’ that led to a ‘clear underestimation’ of the devastating impact.
Hundreds of homes were left underwater and roads turned into rivers after the UK was hit by up to seven inches of rain, heavy snow and 82mph winds at the weekend.
The Met Office has been accused of ‘letting down’ the public with Labour MP for Cardiff West, Alex Barros-Curtis, saying warnings should have been ‘amber or red’.
But Met Office services director Simon Brown insisted ‘observed rainfall totals were broadly in line with the forecast and the severe weather warnings issued in advance.’
He said 50 weather warnings were issued last week, but added: ‘I’m committed to learning the lessons from Storm Bert to support even greater preparedness.’
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said more flooding is ‘likely’ this week although the impacts ‘should be less severe’ than they were on Sunday and Monday.
Communities are continuing a ‘massive clean-up’, with residents in some affected areas having said they do not believe the chaos will be cleared by Christmas.
At least five lives were claimed by Bert, including a man in his 80s who died after his car entered water at a ford in Colne, Lancashire, on Saturday.
A body was found in the search for Brian Perry, 75, who went missing while walking his dog near the Afon Conwy river in North Wales on the same day.