Flood Warnings in place for Formby but set to dodge the worst of Storm Frank

Formby looks set to dodge the worst of the weather from Storm Frank which is set to batter much of the UK over the next two days. It is 13°C with South West winds of 26mph in Formby this morning.

Stephenson Way in Formby flooded a few days ago

There are already strong winds in the area this morning as Storm Frank rolls across the north west. We expect the full force of it to arrive later this morning with heavy rainfall in Formby and flood warnings in place for our Bubble.

According to the latest forecasts from the Met Office those areas being warned to “be aware” no longer include the Mersey region – although heavy rain and wind is still expected.

Gales and downpours were forecast to sweep back into Britain from last night, with Cumbria, Wales and southern and central Scotland set to take the brunt of it.

Flood alerts also remain in place across Formby, Southport and West Lancashire areas as more rain is forecast in the coming days.

A spokeswoman for the Met Office said updates are “constantly changing” and weather warnings are being reviewed.

The Met Office has named Storm Frank as the sixth named storm of the season, and it was expected to bring gales or severe gales to western parts of the UK from last night. Gusts of 55-65mph are likely quite widely, with gusts reaching 70-80mph in exposed areas.

A Yellow Weather Warning had been issued by the Met Office for Formby, Southport and West Lancashire.

The spokeswoman said: “It now looks like there are no warnings now, for the Merseyside area, but there will be heavy rain on Wednesday.

“The warnings associated with the storm will impact on your region somewhat but it doesn’t look too bad compared to further north in areas such as Cumbria.

“It looks as if you will escape the worst of it.

“Wednesday there will be some heavy rain, and towards the end of the week it looks dry but somewhat cooler, down from about 12C to 6C or 7C.”

You can see where is at risk in this interactive flood map - (Click on the map)

According to the Environment Agency’s three day flood risk forecast Merseyside is predicted to be “low risk” for flooding today - Wednesday (December 30) – when most rain is expected to fall.

However, a flood warning remains in place near Maghull where River Alt levels are gradually falling but still remain high, with significant rainfall again expected today and in the Crossens area near Southport.

Here are a few photos from the last week in Formby with the floods.