30-hour weather warning issued for swathes of Shropshire as Babet continues to batter UK
The Met Office has issued a 30-hour weather warning for rain from the very early hours of Friday through to Saturday morning.
Much of north Shropshire has been issued with a yellow weather warning ahead of a further spell of persistent and heavy rain.
More rain is expected to cause disruption from the early hours of Friday through to around 6am on Saturday.
The weather warning is currently in place for residents in and north of Telford and Shrewsbury, across to Oswestry and the Welsh borders, starting at midnight tonight and running until 6am on Saturday.
The warning states: "A band of heavy and persistent rain is expected to slowly edge southwards across northern England into Friday, merging with a new area of rain pushing north from the southern North Sea."
Between 25 and 50mm of rain is expected to fall "quite widely".
"Strong easterly winds may exacerbate the impacts brought about by the heavy rain," forecasters add.
The Met Office has warned that fast-flowing or deep floodwater is possible and homes and businesses could be affected.
Delays or cancellations to train and bus services are possible, and spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.
Parts of neighbouring Staffordshire and Cheshire are covered by an amber weather warning which covers the same time period.
On Thursday, the Environment Agency issued flood alerts for the Upper Teme and Tern and Perry catchments.
River levels in the rest of the county remained steady and within the 'normal' range as of midday Thursday, but continued heavy rain falling onto already saturated ground does increase the chances of flooding.
Storm Babet has been battering the UK since Wednesday, with the Met Office issuing a four-day warning for most of the country.
