HEAVY rain is expected into the early hours of Friday, January 30 as the Met Office extends its weather warning.

A band of rain is likely to reach the South West on Thursday afternoon then spread quickly northeast across the rest of the warning area by evening.

The rain is only likely to last for a few hours in any one location, but will be heavy at times.

A further 10 to 20 millimetres is likely quite widely, and in the wetter spots, particularly across the moors, a further 20 to 40 millimetres is possible and will fall onto already saturated ground.

As such, the Exeter-based forecaster has issued a yellow warning for rain.

It comes into force from 12pm on Thursday, January 29 and lasts until 3.30am on Friday, January 30.

‘The likelihood of impacts from these rainfall amounts is higher than normal due to saturated ground and ongoing flooding following Storm Chandra’, the Met Office says.