Heavy rain and floods hit Northwest England by Alex Deakin
Torrential rain and high winds battered large parts of Northwest England on Saturday. The worst affected areas were Cumbria and Lancashire where rivers broke their banks and roads were made impassable from local flooding.
Across the Lake District in Cumbria, the severe weather forced the cancellation of the annual Original Mountain Marathon. Hundreds of competitors taking part in the organised run were left stranded in the fells as the weather became increasingly severe. Mountain rescue teams dealt with more than 10 casualties, and sheltered at least 300 mountaineers – some of which were suffering from hypothermia.
Saturday’s heavy rain was associated with an active cold front linked to a deepening area of low pressure that developed out over the Atlantic and moved close to the UK, brushing across Western and Northern Scotland. Heavy and persistent rain as well as gale force winds battered much of the Western UK. The heaviest rain fell across a large part of Cumbria. Shap Fell recorded 73.8mm (3 inches) of rain from around lunchtime Saturday to the early hours of Sunday. As vast amounts of rain flowed over the saturated ground, rivers across the Lake District rose to dangerous levels – notably the River Cocker, which burst its banks overnight.
The deep area of low has now moved away and is expected to be replaced by a blast of cold arctic winds which will penetrate south across much of the UK for the upcoming week. Widespread frosts are likely during the nights and sunny spells and wintry showers will affect many parts of the country by day.
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