Storm Benjamin: Rainy and blustery rush hour forecast for Thursday morning
A yellow weather warning for heavy rain and strong winds has been issued for Peterborough as Storm Benjamin hits the city.
The Met Office warnings will be in place on Thursday (October 23) for the whole day – with the worst of the weather forecast for the morning rush hour.
The warning will bring some relief for Anglian Water – who have said they need more wet weather in our region after one of the driest summers on record.
The warning around heavy rain is in place from midnight until 9pm, while the warning around strong winds is in place from 3am until midnight.
What the warnings say
The Met Office warning – which covers much of England – says: “There is a risk of heavy rain for southern and eastern parts of Britain.
“What should I expect?
“Spray and flooding on roads leading to difficult driving conditions and increased chance of accidents, making journey times longer
“Public transport affected in places with some journey times taking longer
“Flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely
"Strong winds may cause travel disruption and some damage across eastern England during Thursday.
“There is a small chance of longer journey times or cancellations as road, rail, air and ferry services are affected
“There is a slight chance of some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs
“There is a slight chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage
“There is a small chance that injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties
“There is a small chance of injuries and danger to life from flying debris
“There is a small chance that some roads and bridges could close.”
The forecast
The actual Met Office forecast for Peterborough says that Thursday is likely to see rain for much of the day.
The heaviest rain is now forecast in the morning – with at least a 90 per cent chance of heavy rain in the city from midnight until 10am.
The afternoon could be drier, with the wet weather easing in the evening.
Strong winds are also set to arrive in the morning, with 30mph gusts predicted to arrive at 8am. Gusts of at least 35mph are forecast from 10am until 10pm.
The strong winds are set to last through much of Friday – with 30mph gusts forecast to last until 4pm – although there is only a small chance of rain on Friday.
Saturday will see some strong winds, before it calms down on Sunday.
“We need to see more rainfall over the next six months than we’ve had across the entirety of 2025 so far"
Despite the wet weather so far this autumn, Anglian Water says it needs more rain following a hot, dry summer.
This spring and summer period has been one of the driest in the Anglian region since records began in 1899, second only to the famously dry 1976.
In August, the region experienced just 30% of the long term average (LTA) rainfall that is expected for the month.
Although the East of England received some much-needed rain in September (56.8mm, or 106% of the LTA), this was the first month of just above average rainfall since January 2025. In total 10 out of the last 12 months (including a stretch of 7 months in a row) have received lower than average rainfall. Subsequently, levels in the reservoirs, rivers and groundwater sources are below normal for the time of year and much more rainfall is needed to fully replenish these sources.
Around half of the water supplied to the Anglian region comes from groundwater. Despite the recent rainfall, the ground is still very dry and therefore acts as a barrier when rain falls. This limits groundwater recharge and prolongs recovery of these sources. The dry ground also puts Anglian Water’s underground network of pipes at more risk of shifting and breaking, making leaks and bursts more likely.
Ian Rule, Director of Water Services for Anglian Water said: “As we head into autumn and winter, we’re likely to see some more rain – so it’s easy to forget what a dry year we’ve had so far. In fact, this spring and summer period was the driest since 1976.
"At Anglian Water, we operate in the driest part of the country, so we’ve been working for decades to make sure we’re ready for drought – investing in projects like our strategic pipeline which will transport water from wetter parts of our region to the driest areas that need it most. This longstanding investment in resilience is one of the reasons why we didn’t reach the triggers to implement restrictions this year.
“Despite some recent rainfall though, we’ve still got a really long way to go. Our modelling suggests that for water resources to return to normal levels we will need a significant amount of consistent rainfall this winter – more than 100% of the usual rainfall every month until next April.
"This means we need to see more rainfall over the next six months than we’ve had across the entirety of 2025 so far!
“While our water supplies are currently secure, our teams we will be working around the clock this winter to ensure as much as of the rainfall we receive goes towards supporting the environment and the recharge of our sources. We are also continuing to ask our customers to support us with this by using a ‘little less’ wherever they can. If we experience a drier than average winter, then we will take further action to ensure we protect water resources ahead of summer 2026.”