Highway Agency advises drivers to consider journeys as more severe weather predicted

4.37.55pm GMT Sat 28th Jul 2007

The Met Office predict a 40% risk of severe rain disruption in Kent over Saturday night / Sunday morning

As the Met Office predicts more heavy rain this weekend across South East England including Kent, with a risk of disruption to the strategic road network, the Highways Agency is advising drivers to adjust their travel plans as necessary.

The Met Office has issued an early warning for severe weather, predicting that heavy rain will spread eastwards across South Wales and Southern and Central England between Saturday evening and Sunday lunchtime. There is a risk of several hours of persistent rain, which could cause disruption to the road network. Road users are advised that travel situations may change at very short notice.

The Met Office say the rain will be locally heavy with general totals between 10 and 20mm, but locally 30 to 40mm totals are possible. The period of rain is expected to last 6 to 9 hours at any one location with around 3 hours of heavy rain possible.

The Highways Agency are strongly advising drivers to:

• Consider whether their journey is really necessary.

• Check road and weather conditions before they set off and listen to regular traffic updates, particularly if they are travelling in areas already affected by, or at risk of, flooding.

• Consider changing their routes or delaying their journeys if appropriate.

• If they must travel, take food and something to drink in case of unexpected delays.

Up-to-date information on road conditions on England's motorways and trunk roads, is available on the Agency website at http://www.highways.gov.uk or call 08457 504030. For information on weather conditions, visit the Met Office website at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk or listen to HA Traffic Radio on DAB or local radio broadcasts or on the internet: http://www.trafficradio.org.uk