Flooding chaos forces schools to close as Met Office warns of big freeze. Somerset has closed dozens of schools and nearby roads were flooded.

New warnings have been introduced for sites in Halesowen that are vulnerable to flooding. However, there are three types of messages – flood alert, flood warning, and severe flood warning which can be triggered by severe weather or river conditions.

Flooding has blocked ten rail routes in the UK, mainly in South and West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.       TransPennine Express and Northern Rail have asked people not to travel wherever possible and have said that rail replacement …