Storm Babet: Leeds braced for heavy rain and wind as Met Office issues new warning

The city will see a wet and windy start today (Thursday, October 19), while there may be some chances of sunshine later in the afternoon.

However, the Met Office has upgraded the previous yellow warning to an amber warning starting at noon Friday (October 20), meaning heavy rain and high risk of flooding are likely in Leeds.

Most of the rain is forecast to hit the city tomorrow Friday, with heavy rain expected throughout the entire day and into Saturday.

Ben Lukey, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Persistent and heavy rain brought by a combination of Storm Babet and following weather systems means significant inland flooding is likely across parts of the North East and Yorkshire from Thursday through to Saturday, while, at the same time, flooding is also possible across other parts of the North, East Anglia and the South East.

 “Environment Agency teams will be out on the ground, undertaking preparatory operational activity to minimise the impacts of flooding where possible. We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car. 

 “People should check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation at https://www.gov.uk/check-if-youre-at-risk-of-flooding and follow @EnvAgency on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the latest flood updates.” 

Here’s the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Leeds for Thursday and Friday:

Thursday October 19: 

• 11am – Heavy rain, 14 degrees
• 12pm – Overcast, 14 degrees
• 1pm – Overcast, 15 degrees
• 2pm – Cloudy 16 degrees
• 3pm – Cloudy, 16 degrees
• 4pm – Cloudy, 17 degrees
• 5pm – Sunny interval, 16 degrees
• 6pm – Cloudy, 16 degrees
• 7pm – Light shower, 16 degrees
• 8pm – Light shower, 15 degrees
• 9pm – Light rain, 15 degrees
• 10pm – Light rain, 15 degrees
• 11pm – Light rain, 15 degrees

Friday October 20:

• Midnight – Cloudy, 15 degrees
• 1am – Cloudy, 15 degrees
• 2am – Cloudy,14 degrees
• 3am – Heavy rain, 14 degrees
• 4am – Heavy rain, 14 degrees
• 5am – Light rain, 13 degrees
• 6am – Light rain, 13 degrees
• 7am – Heavy rain, 12 degrees
• 8am – Heavy rain, 12 degrees
• 9am – Heavy rain, 12 degrees
• 10am – Heavy rain, 12 degrees
• 11am – Heavy rain, 11 degrees
• 12pm – Heavy rain, 11 degrees
• 1pm – Heavy rain, 11 degrees
• 2pm – Heavy rain, 11 degrees
• 3pm – Heavy rain, 11 degrees
• 4pm – Heavy rain, 11 degrees
• 5pm – Heavy rain, 10 degrees
• 6pm – Heavy rain, 10 degrees
• 7pm – Heavy rain, 10 degrees
• 8pm – Heavy rain, 10 degrees
• 9pm – Light rain, 10 degrees
• 10pm – Heavy rain, 10 degrees
• 11pm – Heavy rain, 10 degrees