This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Half a month’s worth of rain fell in just 24 hours across parts of England over the weekend, leading to flooding and travel disruption.

Forecasters said parts of the north-west saw 40mm to 50mm of rain between 11am on Saturday and 11am on Sunday, with 52.2mm recorded at Greenfield near Oldham.

Meteorologist Helen Roberts said the monthly average rainfall for the north-west in July was 89.5mm. “This is a lot of rain to fall in the space of 24 hours, especially given the rain has been very consistent and there have been heavy bursts within it,” she said.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for rain across parts of the Midlands and the north-west of England until midnight on Sunday, with the Environment Agency also issuing flood warnings across the two regions, as well as for the east of England. Northern Ireland and south-west Scotland were also subject to rain warnings.

The wet weather came after record temperatures, thunderstorms and heavy rainfall wreaked havoc on the transport network.

On Sunday, there were a number of cancelled flights at Gatwick and rail passengers faced delays after flooding on tracks, while cars in the north-west were left almost entirely underwater by floods. Firefighters were called to the village of Mountsorrel in Leicestershire just after 8am following reports that rising water was threatening a number of properties.

Leicestershire fire and rescue service said two bungalows and a block of flats were evacuated while crews pumped water out of the affected homes and gardens.

Flooding was also reported on train tracks between Manchester Victoria and Southport, with rail users warned to expect delays, and the line was reopened within two and a half hours.

A section of the A555 Manchester airport relief road was shut in both directions, according to traffic data firm Inrix, which cited reports of trapped vehicles amid flooding up to 90cm (3ft) deep.

Greater Manchester police tweeted a photograph of a crashed Lamborghini, which demolished a section of barrier after its driver lost control on standing water. The driver fled on foot before police arrived. “A very expensive mistake,” police said. “They don’t make very good boats!”

Heavy showers and thunderstorms could return to parts of the UK on Monday and into Tuesday, while temperatures were likely to return to normal for the time of year.