PEOPLE are being urged to be prepared for heavy rain as Storm Benjamin hits the south west overnight.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning – covering Somerset – from midnight tonight until 9pm tomorrow (October 23).

Forecasters warned people to expect “spray and flooding on roads leading to difficult driving conditions and increased chance of accidents, making journey times longer”.

They also said public transport could be affected in places, with flooding possible.

“Storm Benjamin is expected to cross the south of the UK later Wednesday and early Thursday; confidence in its track has improved compared to yesterday but still remains lower than usual for this type of weather system which leads to continued uncertainty over the corridor of highest rainfall totals,” a forecaster said.

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“That said, an extensive and in places heavy swathe of rain will move into southwestern Britain later Wednesday and spread quickly northeast, with totals by early Thursday morning of widely 20-30mm, and for some places 30-50mm.

“There is a chance a few places could exceed this, most likely over North Devon and Cornwall and also within a broad area encompassing Lincolnshire, Humberside, East Anglia and East Midlands.

“In association with the rain, conditions are expected to turn windy with gales, initially along south-eastern coasts, but more widely across southern Britain during Thursday daytime.”

People are urged to leave extra time for journeys as the storm passes through.

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