Flash floods warning for England

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Forecasters are warning that England could be hit with flash flooding as the snow and ice begins to melt.

England is set to see warmer weather and heavy rain on Saturday before the temperatures fall again.

The warning comes as drivers face hazardous conditions following fresh snow and cuts in road gritting.

Julian Mayes, senior forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "It looks like the end of the snow but not the havoc.

"Originally it was thought there wasn't much of a flood risk because rivers were low and the snow was powdery.

"But flooding is now likely because Friday night will be much milder and southerly winds will push rain through the west.

"There will be rain across England on the Saturday and with milder temperatures there will be some flooding." An Environment Agency spokesman said: "There may be an increased risk of flooding in some areas over the weekend due to predicted heavy rain and the partial thawing of snow due to slightly higher temperatures, and we continue to closely monitor weather conditions and river levels.

"Whilst snow is deep in some places, the small amount of water that results from snow melt is not expected to cause significant flooding problems if it happens steadily over many days. With the forecast rainfall, this thawing may happen more quickly."

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