UK weather warning: Met Office issues NINE urgent alerts with alarm raise for flooding and power cuts
The UK is set to be hit by a band of rain
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Motorists are asked to plan ahead as the Met Office has issued NINE weather alerts for rain and ice.
The Met Office has put in issues for heavy rain across parts of England, Wales and Scotland.
Northern Scotland and Tyneside has also has warnings for ice as temperatures are set to plummet before the weekend.
The Environment Agency has so far issued 56 flood warnings, which mean flooding is "expected" in that area, and 171 flood alerts where flooding is "possible".
The Met Office has put in the alerts for
The Met Office
A yellow weather warning has been issued for rain in rural areas across the UK, including in Dumfires, Cumbria, Southern Wales and the South West of England, including Cornwall and Devon.
These weather warnings are expected to stay in place all through Thursday and possibly into the early hours of Friday morning.
In addition to this, a yellow weather warning for ice is in place across parts of northern Scotland until 7pm on Thursday.
Motorists are told to plan ahead for their journeys, particularly in rural areas.
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Motorists are being warned to take care when in rural areas
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A spokesperson from the Met Office said: "Heavy rain likely bringing some travel disruption on Thursday and possible flooding.
"Some communities may be cut off by flooded roads. Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.
"Possible power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses. Homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings.
"Delays or cancellations to train and bus services are possible."
It comes after the Met Office has said the UK is facing a fresh wave of snow and ice ahead of the festive period.
Temperatures are expected to hit as high as 13C this weekend, before a colder spell next week.
A major incident was declared in Cumbria last week as temperatures plummeted to as low as -12.5C in northern Scotland.
Cumbria saw up to 30cm of snow falling in places over the weekend.