UK bracing for gale force winds and floods as conveyer belt of winter storms approach

The rivers in the area, including the River Parrett, rose by a staggering two metres, amid further warnings of localised flooding

Residents in Somerset are bracing themselves for another round of catastrophic flooding after the area's main river rose to a dangerous level, amid warnings of a 'conveyor belt' of winter storms.

Heavy rain has caused the River Parrett at Burrowbridge, near Bridgwater, to rise by a staggering two metres, leaving it just one metre away from bursting its banks.

The perilously-high levels caused the water to spill over into dozens of houses and gardens, just 11 months since the last major flooding incident in Somerset.

It comes less than two weeks after the Environment Agency finished dredging two of the area's rivers in an attempt to prevent future flooding.

The rivers in the area, including the River Parrett (pictured), rose by a staggering two metres, amid further warnings of localised flooding

Dredging has been taking place since March, as part of a £5.8million plan to clear a five-mile stretch of the Tone and Parrett rivers, in a bid to increase their capacity and reduce the risk of them overflowing during periods of heavy rainfall.

The project was started after the heaviest January rainfall for 250 years flooded the Somerset Levels, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.

But residents were today sand-bagging their homes, after forecasters warned heavy rain and fierce winds of up to 70mph could batter the UK - especially the south west.

Forecasters have warned that a spiralling 3,000-mile diameter weather front, which brought downpours to the UK this morning, will continue to sweep in from the Atlantic, bringing wet weather misery and gale-force winds until at least Sunday.

The bleak-looking forecast has led to severe weather warnings being put in place across large parts of Britain, with the south west of England, south Wales and parts of Ireland expected to suffer the worst.

Forecasters say gusts of up to 70mph are expected to sweep across the Irish Sea, potentially wreaking havoc as they hit the mainland.

And they have also warned people to be on their guard for flooding all over the country, due to the onslaught of 'persistent' rain expected over the past few days.

And even though there will be a brief let-up early next week, a second weather front will reach the UK on Wednesday, pushing rain over and southern Britain again and presenting problems for residents in Somerset

Dredging has been taking place since March, as part of a £5.8million plan to clear a five mile stretch of the nearby Tone and Parrett rivers

The project is a bid to increase the capacity of the rivers, and reduce the risk of them overflowing during periods of heavy rainfall

But, despite the alarming sight, some locals said it was nothing unusual for this time of year.

Jenny Winslade, who was forced to evacuate her farm and home last winter, said: 'It has been raining a lot over the weekend - this is probably water from three days ago.

'We are designed to take a bit of water - the key thing is how fast they get rid of of it and now we have super duper wide dredged rivers there is plenty of room for water.'

South Somerset District Council held a meeting today to reassure residents they were doing everything possible to prevent last year's tragedy from repeating.

Representatives from the Environment Agency's explained work being done to reduce the risk of flooding, while local council chiefs discussed back up plans.

Residents were also told about measures which have been put in place to keep the roads in use, as well as rescue operations and community flood plans.

Councillor Ric Pallister, leader of South Somerset District Council said: 'A lot has happened since the disastrous events of last winter and much work is still going on.

'(The meeting is) an opportunity for the broader community to understand what has changed, what flood prevention measures have been put in place and what will now be different should we experience similar conditions across South Somerset in the future.'

Meteorologists say that, although the route of the rainfall is difficult to predict, almost nowhere in Britain will escape the wet weather.

And even though there will be a brief let-up early next week, a second weather front will reach the UK on Wednesday, pushing rain over central and southern Britain towards the middle and end of next week.

Nicki Willis from the Met Office said: 'Bands of rain will keep coming through and, while they are not unusual, they are fairly static and continuous. We are getting a big accumulation of rainfall and it will be hanging around for quite a while.

'We are looking at unsettled weather over the next few days. Most places throughout the next couple of days will see some rain at some time.'

The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for the south west, south Wales and parts of the south coat tomorrow, where rain will be particularly heavy in the evening.

Areas in Northern Ireland, south west England and Wales could see up to 70mm fall over tomorrow and Friday, the Met Office said. The average total rainfall for the UK over the whole of November is 120mm.

Forecasters have warned people to be braced for localised flooding, due to the onslaught of 'persistent' rain expected over the next few days, as shown here in Bournemouth

Severe weather warnings are in place across the south west, south Wales and the south coast, where there were strong winds this morning

Cornwall, parts of Devon and South Wales will experience the worst of the strong winds, with a wind weather warning in place tomorrow

And there is also a 24-hour warning in place for heavy rain over Northern Ireland, which starts at midday tomorrow.

Although the weekend is looking slightly brighter, there will still be showers and strong winds, with only central England expected to be given some dry weather reprieve.

But, despite feeling breezy, temperatures will remain around average - about 9 degrees - for the time of year.

A spokesman for Meteogroup said: 'Very unsettled on Friday with heavy rain across much of the UK. Remaining windy in many eastern areas.

'Saturday will see the risk of rain in northern and eastern parts of Scotland as well as eastern parts of England. Some sunny spells are possible further south and west across the UK but with the risk of a scattering of showers too, these most likely in Wales and south-west England.'

Leon Brown, Chief Meteorologist, from the Weather Channel, said: 'There is a large low pressure circulation over the eastern Atlantic, some 3,000 miles in diameter, and this spiralling low pressure system will very gradually move eastwards over western Europe this weekend, slowly 'spinning itself out'.

This three-day forecast shows heavy rain across many parts of the UK. Fog could also spread across the country on Saturday

Weather warnings are in place across the south west and west of Wales and England with more warnings expected over the next few days

'Bands of rain will move around it so we can expect quite unsettled weather, but the timing and track of these disturbances is difficult to forecast.

'There is also another smaller disturbance way out over the mid Atlantic that is now caught in the jet stream. The jet stream will bring this quickly around the southern flank of the upper low over the east Atlantic and then northwards over the western side of the UK on Thursday.

'The system will be travelling at 40 to 50mph as it runs up over SW England on Thursday morning and then western Wales to the Irish Sea by Thursday afternoon.

'Gales for a time as it moves north with gusts 60mph over exposed parts of the south west and south and west Wales with the risk of brief gusts to 70mph across some headlands and hills. Some heavy rain too over Wales and especially east and northern Ireland with yet another 30 to 40mm for Ulster.

'The next pulse of rain will push across all areas on Thursday night to Friday. This now looks like it will move a little more quickly so rainfall totals not as high as earlier expected with typically 7 to 15mm for England and Wales, but 30 to 40mm for the southern Highlands and particularly the southern Grampians.

'As pressure rises early next week the weather becoming drier and a little more settled for a time, but the next area of low pressure is likely to reach the west during Wednesday and push rain over central and southern Britain by Thursday.'

The Met Office said earlier this week that its latest three-month outlook suggests that there is an increased risk of milder and wetter than average conditions for November, December and January.