Flooding chaos in London as motorists abandon cars with 200 areas across the country still on flood alert after heavy rain – but temperatures will hit 14C this weekend

Cars were stuck in floodwater in London last night as a roundabout turned into a “boating lake” and more than 200 other parts of Britain remained on flood watch.

Vehicles had to be abandoned in Abbey Wood, south-east London, around 6pm as four fire engines and 25 firefighters tried to clear standing water from roads.

A 50-metre cordon was installed and roads were closed – and although the cause of the flooding has not yet been confirmed, it follows heavy rain over the capital.

Flood risks continued in other parts of England, with the Environment Agency issuing 31 “expected” flood warnings as well as 185 “possible” flood warnings.

One alert in London today covers the section of the River Thames from Teddington to Fulham. High tide at 2.15pm may cause flooding of low-lying roads and footpaths.

But conditions are expected to become drier in many areas over the coming days, with rising pressure and an unseasonal high of 14C (57F) this weekend.

Meanwhile, there was rail chaos in the East Midlands today after floodwaters swamped pumps at Draycott in Derbyshire, between Derby and the East Midlands Parkway.

Network Rail said its pumps were working but the volume of water flowing from fields had flooded the tracks. National Rail warned that disruption was “expected until the end of the day”, affecting CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services.

In Abbey Wood last night at 6.15pm, London Fire Brigade (LFB) were called to the roundabout where Yarnton Way, Harrow Manorway and Eynsham Drive intersect.

Eyewitness Charlie Robery shared a video of X seeing water hitting their bus and saying: “Anyone have a boat?!”

Another observer added: “Didn’t know Abbey Wood had a boating lake near Lidl.”

An LFB spokesman said: “Several vehicles were stuck in flood water. There were no motorists trapped in the stranded vehicles and were able to exit their vehicles before crews arrived.

“Firefighters worked with multi-agency partners to reduce floodwater levels. Partners continue efforts to clear standing water from the area.

“Road closures remain in place and motorists are advised to continue to avoid the area.”

Two fire engines from Bexley and Erith fire stations and two fire and rescue units from Bexley and Lewisham fire stations attended the scene.

At 21:31 LFB, the incident occurred, was transferred to the care of the “relevant water management department.”

Flooding was also reported on Nathan Way in nearby Plumstead last night, where firefighters responded to the scene and road closures were in place.

Much of England and Wales had a cloudy start to the day today, with light rain in eastern areas, although it was brighter in the north and west.

Any clouds and rain were expected to clear slowly in the east throughout the afternoon and evening, with sunny spells more widespread across England and Wales.

Clouds and rain will spread into western Scotland and Northern Ireland this evening, with clear skies further east.

Where it remains clear for the longest time in England there could also be some light frost before clouds and rain spread to all areas later in the night.

Tomorrow the eastern parts will begin to become cloudy, with clouds remaining in the far south and east for most of the day.

The sunny weather will expand further north and west, with long spells of sunshine and light showers across western Scotland with gusty westerly winds.

Friday will start nice and bright, with the morning seeing sunshine for most and only light showers in the far north.

Saturday will be a cloudy but mild day with light drizzle and gusty winds.

The Met Office said parts of the country are expected to experience “wonderful” mild December temperatures this weekend, with the mercury likely to rise to 14C (57F).

Unusually mild air for December will arrive from the subtropical Atlantic Ocean in the coming days, causing temperatures to rise well above average, forecasters said.

“Exceptionally mild weather conditions” are especially expected in the central and northern regions of the country, where daytime temperatures will reach average Celsius.

Minimum temperatures “could be even more dramatic, with most remaining in the double digits and some possibly remaining in the low twenties throughout the night.”

The jet stream has frequently produced areas of low pressure in recent days, including two named storms, but its path will shift further north, causing pressure to build.

The UK’s highest maximum temperature ever recorded in December was just four years ago, when temperatures reached 18.7C (65.7F) at Achfari in the Highlands on 28 December 2019.

While such heights are unlikely to be reached this week, the Met Office is expecting a peak of 14C (57F), with the north east being the mildest area.

And the unseasonably warm conditions will be in stark contrast to two weekends ago, when even daytime temperatures in the south were well below freezing and heavy snow fell across the Lake District.

Met Office meteorologist Oliver Claydon told MailOnline: “Later this week the jet stream will move further north and allow pressure to build up from the south.

“As well as bringing a drier spell to much of the UK, it will bring milder Atlantic air from the south-west.

“This unusually mild air for December will see temperatures across much of the UK above average, with daytime temperatures in the low to mid-teens range and nighttime temperatures potentially in the low 10s in some places.”

He said the blow dryer effect may also contribute to warmer weather.

This is a change from wet and cold conditions on one side of the mountain to warmer and drier conditions on the other.

In Britain this tends to occur over the Highlands, where prevailing wet westerly winds encounter the higher ground along the west coast of Scotland.

This could mean that the west experiences wet weather while the lower east is warm and sunny.

Mr Claydon said: “The hairdryer effect is not only a source of soft air, but will help raise temperatures even higher in parts of the north-east of the UK.

“Highest temperatures are likely to be between 13 and 14 degrees, most likely in the north-east of the UK.”

It comes after flood barriers were installed on Monday to protect homes along the River Severn as water levels continue to rise.

The Environment Agency has installed defenses in the Frankwell area of ​​Shrewsbury, with the river expected to peak in the town yesterday and in Worcestershire today.

The Met Office said the amount of rainfall that fell in England and Wales between December 1 and December 9 was more than double what is normally expected.

An average of 52.1 mm (2.05 in) fell across the two countries. This was 50 percent of the normal rainfall for the entire month, when the first nine days typically only received 26 percent of December’s rainfall.