The UK has seen a rainy start to meteorological winter following a wet and mild autumn with above-average temperatures, the Met Office said.
Parts of Wales were battered with heavy rain on Monday – with some areas seeing as much as 83mm of rain, almost half of the country’s average December rainfall.
Four weather warnings are set to remain in place for Wales and parts of north and south-west England for much of Monday, with an amber warning for heavy rain in south Wales in place until 9pm.
Ten flood warnings and 52 flood alerts have been issued by Natural Resources Wales, while six flood warnings and 57 alerts are in place across England.
By 3pm on Monday, mountainous areas in north Wales had recorded up to 83mm of rain.
Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said: “It’s been a bit of a wet start to meteorological winter with generally a cloudy picture right across the country.
“(There have been) outbreaks of rain, some locally heavy and persistent, and also some strong and gusty winds.
“But conditions will gradually improve as we move into the overnight period – the cloud (and) the rain gradually will start to move eastwards and start to settle out in the small hours of Tuesday morning with clear skies.
“It’s definitely going to be an improvement into the second half of the night.”
The coming days are expected to bring further unsettled conditions, with some bright spots in the east, he added.
A spokeswoman for Natural Resources Wales said: “There is a risk of significant impacts, including danger to life, and all communities in Wales are urged to check their flood risk.”
She added: “This comes just weeks after Storm Claudia, which caused severe flooding in Monmouth, and our thoughts are with those recently affected.
“Surface water flooding is widely expected and may cause serious travel disruption. Driving conditions are likely to be hazardous throughout the day, including during rush hours.”
It follows a wet autumn that saw the UK record 20% more rainfall than the long-term meteorological average and marked the third wettest on record in Northern Ireland, the Met Office said.
Despite unsettled conditions, the UK saw a mean temperature of 0.4C above the autumnal average, with England particularly warm.
Autumn also brought three named storms – Storm Amy and Benjamin in October, followed by Storm Claudia in November – resulting in strong winds and heavy rain.
Met Office senior scientist Mike Kendon said while the season had been “notably wet”, rainfall totals were not “exceptional”.
He said: “We’ve perhaps noticed the unsettled autumn weather all-the-more, because of the marked contrast from the prolonged spells of warm, dry, sunny weather we came to expect during spring and summer.”
Rainfall in the UK fell below average last winter, and over the spring and summer this year.
Mr Kendon added: “The UK rainfall total for autumn 2025 (403.4mm) is easily more than spring and summer combined (340.4mm).”
