Met Office says storms may cause travel disruption and flooding, leading to difficult driving conditions Heavy thunderstorms could give way to the warmest day of the year so far in Britain. The same storm caused mudslides in northern France, which started around midnight and killed at least one person, a 57-year-old woman, and injured her partner ..read more

Grey skies and persistent rain could be replaced by temperatures as high as 20C in south-east England Chilly April is on its way out with the coming days set to usher in warmer temperatures more akin to spring, according to the Met Office. The lack of sunshine, grey skies and persistent rain have contributed to it feeling unusually cold as April comes to a close ..read more

Temperatures could hit -3C in northern England and Scotland, but Met Office says conditions are ‘nothing exceptional’ Freezing overnight temperatures will hit parts of the UK on Wednesday and Thursday, with experts warning some areas could see snow. The cold Arctic air is expected to cause frosts across parts of northern England and Scotland, with temperatures going as low as -3C ..read more

Stories of dismay but also resilience as crisis in food production builds after 18 months of exceptionally wet weather Farmers have been dealing with record-breaking rainfall over at least the past year, meaning food produced in Britain has fallen drastically. Livestock and crops have been affected as fields have been submerged since last autumn on account of it being an exceptionally wet 18 months ..read more

Carer’s allowance eligibilityLiz Truss’s bestsellerSave the election dateEarthworms ruleReservoir pics Re Jan Pahl’s letter (12 April) illustrating the very low value that carer’s allowance (CA) places on unpaid carers’ contributions to the care of their families, the gap between entitlement to and eligibility for CA is further proof of this. In 2022-23, 1.3 million people were deemed to be entitled to claim CA, but nearly 400,000 were ineligible because of the complex interactions with the disability benefits received by the person being cared for and/or other benefits received by the ca ..read more

Last year, Storm Babet tore through Chesterfield in Derbyshire, an at-risk town that had been hit before. Could the devastation have been avoided? The flood alert was issued on the morning of 20 October 2023. Storm Babet was coming. Be prepared. Paul Gilbert, a 47-year-old landscape gardener from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, did what he always did when a flood alert came in: he went to check on his mum, Maureen ..read more

Met Office says it could not verify if strong gusts in Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire were a tornado Strong winds and hundreds of lightning strikes have battered much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland with a possible tornado reported in Staffordshire. The Met Office said it could not verify if the strong gusts in Newcastle-under-Lyme were a tornado but added that the winds forecast on Monday morning “had some potential” to create one ..read more

Flood and frozen pipe damage caused by series of storms, says Association of British Insurers Storms and heavy rain pushed up weather-related home insurance claims in the UK by more than a third last year to a record £573m, according to industry data. The repair bill for storm damage and other extreme weather during 2023 was £150m more than in 2022, the Association of British Insurers said, contributing to an overall 10% rise in residential property claims settled last year ..read more

Met Office says parts of Scotland could be below freezing overnight despite temperatures on Saturday as high as 21.8C in Essex The hottest day of the year so far will be followed by temperatures of minus 2C in parts of the UK, the Met Office has said. Many enjoyed a warm and sunny Saturday but forecasters said temperatures will drop as the working week begins ..read more

We want to know how livestock and crops have been affected by the weather in recent months and the impact on your livelihood The amount of food being produced by British farmers has been badly hit by the record-breaking rainfall, it has been reported. Farming groups say that both livestock and crops have been affected by the “exceptionally wet” past 18 months, meaning the UK will be reliant on imports for wheat in the coming year and potentially beyond ..read more