Flooding Plagues English Holiday Travel

By Evan Duffey, Meteorologist

December 23,2012; 11:58AM,EST

Flooding continues to impact much of the UK, leading to evacuations and travel delays just in time for the holiday season.
Heavy rain has lead to massive flooding issues across the UK of late, particularly impacting southwestern England and Wales.
While a majority of the flooding has resided, some parts of the region have not seen dry enough weather as of late to alleviate flooding, and in fact rains the last couple of days have led to additional flooding problems.
One example of a location that has seen well above-normal precipitation is Bristol, in southwestern England. In November rainfall during the first half of the month saturated the soil. When even heavier rain came during the second half of the November, there was no where for it to go. During November, Bristol saw over 300 percent of their normal rainfall on the month.

A Highways Agency employee works to unblock a drain on a flooded road outside Plymouth, in the southwest of England Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. In nearby Cornwall, people had to briefly evacuate their homes as flood waters and torrential rain battered villages. Major highways and roads in the southwest were closed due to the flooding and several train services were canceled. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
December didn't get much better. While the month began somewhat quiet, the second half of the month has brought consistent rain day to day, re-aggravating the flooding.
Evacuations have been ordered in parts of Cornwall, as the region finally lost the battle with rising flood waters. Travel restrictions are also in place due to flood waters.
Across much of England flood waters continue to create delays for those planing their Christmas travel. Both road and rail travel across parts of the nation have been seriously hampered.
The best change for heavy rain in the near future will come Saturday into Sunday as moisture continues to pivot around a large low between the UK and Iceland. After that showers will continue, however in general they will be light, until late week when another batch of rain will be possible.