Major incidents declared over flooding in Leicestershire and Lincolnshire

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident on the morning of Monday 6 January 2025 in response to widespread flooding across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, after receiving more than 200 calls¹. Lincolnshire Resilience Forum announced that a major incident had been declared in Lincolnshire on Monday afternoon, with emergency services having to rescue children stranded at a school in Edenham amid flooding¹.

In Leicestershire, crews freed cars stuck in flood water, evacuated residents from flooded homes and rescued at least 17 members of the public¹. In North Yorkshire, police said the body of a man had been recovered on Monday from an area of flooding in Beal, near Eggborough and Knottingley; officers believe he entered the water on Saturday or Sunday, said the man had been formally identified, that efforts to trace his next of kin were ongoing, and that there were no suspicious circumstances¹.

At 4pm on Monday, the Environment Agency had 177 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 311 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, active across England; at the same time Natural Resources Wales had one flood warning and 18 flood alerts in place¹. The fresh disruption came after the UK's coldest night of the winter so far, with -13.3C recorded at Loch Glascarnoch in the Highlands, between Ullapool and Inverness, overnight on Sunday¹.

The Met Office issued three yellow warnings for snow and ice, in force across large parts of the UK from Monday afternoon into Tuesday, with a separate warning for snow in southern England on Wednesday from 9am until 11.59pm¹. The Met Office advised people to be prepared for yet more ice and snow, more than 5cm in the worst hit areas¹. Its chief meteorologist Frank Saunders said:

Hundreds of schools were closed on Monday in areas including Lancashire, Yorkshire and northeast Scotland, on what should have been the first day back for many pupils¹. Manchester airport's two runways were closed early on Monday morning because of heavy snow but later reopened, with three departures cancelled and a number of other flights delayed¹. Several stretches of A-road were closed, including the A66 in Cumbria in both directions between the A1M and the M6 because of snow, and the A628 Woodhead Pass in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire in both directions between the A616 for Flouch and the A57 for Hollingworth because of flooding¹. Flooding forced the closure of all railway lines between Derby and both Nottingham and East Midlands Parkway, affecting CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services, with those operators also disrupted by flooding closing all lines between Peterborough and Leicester¹.

Why it matters for households

The major incident declarations cover Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, and Lincolnshire, where emergency services have been rescuing people from flooded homes, cars and a school¹. Flood warnings and alerts were also active across England and Wales on Monday afternoon¹. The flood warnings guide sets out the difference between alerts, warnings and severe flood warnings, and what a major incident declaration means explains how services respond. Households in the warned areas face continued travel disruption on roads and railways, and school closures have affected pupils due to return on Monday¹. The Met Office advised people to be prepared, with Mr Saunders saying it is not possible to say exactly where snow might fall, so it is important that people are prepared¹. The household flooding guide covers practical preparation, and Wales: Natural Resources Wales warnings and risk maps covers the Welsh warning service.

What happens next

The snow and ice warnings run into Tuesday, with the separate southern England snow warning in place on Wednesday from 9am until 11.59pm¹. No further update on the flood warnings and alerts in England and Wales after 4pm on Monday has been reported.