More than half a month’s worth of rain fell in one day across parts of the UK, with further heavy downpours forecast across the country in the next 24 hours.

A total of 32.2mm (1.27in) of rain fell on the parish of Wattisham near Stowmarket in Suffolk in the 24 hours to 6am on Wednesday, the Met Office said – the highest volume of rainfall anywhere in the UK during that time.

The average November rainfall for the region is 60mm (2.36in).

Whitchurch in Cardiff recorded the second highest level of rainfall, with 30.6mm (1.2in) falling in 24 hours, although this represented about one-fifth of the average November deluge for the area.

Craibstone in Aberdeenshire received 25mm (0.99in) of rainfall, while Kent had 21.6mm (0.85in).

The Met Office said there was the prospect of further heavy rainfall across pockets of the UK on Wednesday, with yellow weather warnings in place for the south-west of England and south Wales until midday, and for Yorkshire until 6am on Thursday.

The meteorologist Helen Roberts said: “There has been quite a wide-ranging spread of places where we had heavy rainfall, but we had a reasonably significant volume in Wattisham.

“For Wales, the 30.6mm was not that significant because the monthly average is 162mm. Most places saw some rain in the last 24 hours, and there is likely to be more on the way.”

As of 8am, the Environment Agency had 21 flood warnings in place – meaning flooding is expected – largely across the south coast of England between Hampshire and Cornwall.

There were more than 100 flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in place across England.

The warnings come as police continue work to identify a body found on a road affected by recent floods. South Yorkshire police said the man’s remains were found on Fordstead Lane near Barnby Dun, in the Doncaster area, on Saturday.

The road, between Barnby Dun and Arksey, was under water for a fortnight after the River Don burst its banks earlier this month, inundating much of the surrounding area.

Officers were unable to say how long the body had been in the location. On Tuesday, the Severn and Avon in south-west England and the Midlands burst their banks, leaving homes waterlogged in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire earlier this month.

Meanwhile, some areas in the north of England are still struggling with transport disruption caused by flooded roads.

In Derbyshire, several roads were destroyed by rain torrents, and one road remained impassable on Tuesday because of a vehicle stranded in the water.