Dorset braced for flooding after overnight storms (From Thisisdorset)

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Don't forget, our traffic feed has details of all the latest road closures.

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And here are a couple of pictures from Matchams, taken by Corin Messer...

12:45pm

We've had a plea for help from a resident of Matchams:

Residents of moors close hurn and matchams lane are left stranded following last nights severe weather as a tree has been brought down at the boundary lane end of matchams  at approx 10 pm and at the Avon causeway end the dip has flooded again claiming yet more cars despite being cleared and pumped out only yesterday help we are stranded and any unwitting non locals are now stuck driving up and down matchams

12:44pm

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8:09am

We have reports of flooding on roads around Shaftesbury and Sherborne - you can see them all on the traffic feed here

7:34am

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More details on those flood alerts: the Lower Frome around Wareham, the Lower Stour from Sturminster Marshall to Christchurch and the Lower Avon from Ringwood to Christchurch are all on flood warning. 

There is a lesser flood alert covering Purbeck rivers and streams.

7:28am

The weather warnings are in force until 10am for rain and 12noon for wind - then there's a break until this evening, when the rain is back. You can get in touch with us - pictures or news, by texting 80360, starting your message BE, or emailing digital@bournemouthecho.co.uk. Or you can tweet us, facebook us or comment below.

7:26am

Our traffic feed is reporting flooding on the B3078 Witchampton - no0 doubt there will be more as people wake up. 

7:23am

Elsewhere in the country, Cornwall has been worst hit with severe flood warnings for Fowey, Polperro, Helston and Perranporth. A woman died and two were injured when a tree fell on them in Exeter. 

She was 21 and had been living in a small tent sheltered against the wall at the roadside when the tree fell on it. She died almost immediately.

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This morning we heard some interesting advice about preparing for floods. They recommended preparing a grab bag - your phone, keys, money, food, clothes, torch, children's essentials and so on - so that if you get hit by flash flooding you do at least have the basics with you and can just leave.

They also recommended moving vital documents and valuables - including your home insurance papers - to a safe place upstairs so they don't get damaged if the worst happens.

6:43pm

The amber weather warning for rain and gale force winds has now been extended to parts of Dorset. 

3:47pm

NORTH Dorset: A woman had to be rescued when she became trapped in floods at Hammoon near Sturminster Newton, on Saturday morning. Firefighters from Strurminster Newton and Shaftesbury, and specialist rescue teams from Poole Fire Station attended just after 9.30am.
They helped remove the car from the water and the woman was checked over by an ambulance crew. Members of the public are being warned not to make any unnecessary journeys.

3:16pm

According to Dorset County Council, the worst of the weather is predicted to be between 9pm and midnight tonight, so take care out there.

2:08pm

This is the accident involving a Land Rover that happened just outside Wimborne earlier today. There's no need to avoid the area - the roads are all clear now

1:34pm

Another Twitter user worth a follow is @TravelNewsSouth - updates to traffic incidents as they happen across the south

1:05pm

For advice on how to protect yourself and your home during storms, have a look here: http://www.dorsetforyou.com/404035

12:40pm

Someone's making the most of this horrible weather...

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All Dorset Premier League games have been postponed today - from @bmthpoppiesfc

11:40am

For up-to-date information about road closures in Dorset, visit Traveldorset.org

11:36am

Weymouth v Leamington Spa: Match postponed due to waterlogged pitch

11:31am

Sport scheduled for today has been seriously affected by the bad weather. This tweet is from the Dorset County FA:

11:30am

There's been an accident on the A31 outside Wimborne. A Land Rover towing a trailer with an old Land Rover Discovery on it is involved - no one is injured and it was a single-vehicle collision. The Discovery, which we believe was going for scrap possibly, has ended up in some bushes though, and it appears to have a hit a tree. Recovery vehicles are on their way but traffic will be quite bad - we will get pictures up when we can.

11:03am

Here's a bit more detail on where the Environment Agency has put out flood warnings in the last week.

Lower Stour from Sturminster Marshall to Christchurch: Farms at Sturminster Marshall, Cowgrove, shops in Wimborne, Mill Street in Corfe Mullen, Bridge House Hotel in Ferndown, Brecon Close, Ringwood Road, Throop Road in Bournemouth, Barrack Road and Willow Way in Christchurch

Middle Stour from Sturminster Newton to Sturminster Marshall: Hammoon, Bere Marsh, Stourpaine, Durweston and Lower Blandford St Mary

Finally, Lower Frome from East Stoke to Wareham: Areas in East Stoke, Holmebridge, Stoborough, Stoborough Green, Wareham, Redcliffe, Ridge and Swineham

All of these flood warnings are still in place.

10:57am

It's looking likely that we're going to see a lot of rain tomorrow according to the Met Office. It won't just be us in the Bournemouth area though - much of the south west will be grim on Sunday.

The Met Office says:

Persistent rain will continue north on Sunday, turning heavy in places but clearing quite quickly from southern parts.  Given existing levels of saturation, the public should be aware of the risk of localised flooding.

10:26am

At the moment, we have flood warnings from Sturminster Marshall to Christchurch and from Sturminster Newton to Sturminster Marshall.

On the Frome warnings are in place from Dorchester to East Stoke and East Stoke to Wareham.

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If you do have any pictures, or want to tell us where there's flooding or a tree down, email alex.winter@bournemouthecho.co.uk

10:21am

If you're in East Dorset, which has been badly hit in many areas, this is what the council has to say about flooding:

If the council receives a request for emergency assistance we aim to deliver filled sandbags to residents who need them to protect their property. Residents will be encouraged to collect sandbags themselves, especially during more severe weather events when the council's resources become stretched.
We will prioritise requests for assistance.
The service is not a statutory function of the council and will be provided within the limitations of available resources. There may be occasions when there will be no emergency sandbag delivery service.
The service is free of charge and does not extend to clearing up after flooding and recovering sandbags after the event.

If you do need emergency assistance with flooding, call (01202) 886201 during office hours or 07775 935018 outside normal office hours.

10:11am

Julian Wardlaw from the Environment Agency said there is an inch (24mm) of rain forecast for 24 hours after midday today (Saturday), which is a concern. He added that there will "certainly" be surface water on the roads.

10:09am

If you're heading for Dorchester v Luton today, there's a pitch inspection at 11am.

Games for Weymouth, Bridport and Portland Utd are off

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Solent Coastguard said the weather looks set to get worse this afternoon, and are advising people to check carefully before going out on the water today.

9:14am

Advice from Dorset Highways: If you come across trees on the road or debris on the road don't try to move it yourself.

DH Emergency Number 0800 587 0548

9:12am

On Wednesday, Dorset Fire and Police rescued 20 people from flood water and other weather dangers. They'd advise drivers to take extra care, ensuring that they are visible to other drivers and road users by keeping headlights on even in daylight hours.

They say motorists should not, under any circumstances, attempt to drive through standing or flowing water if they are not sure how deep it is. 

9:06am

The Coastguard sent their helicopter to Sherborne yesterday afternoon after two people got trapped in a car in flood water. Luckily, they were helped to safety before the helicopter landed. All motorists are being advised to turn around if there's flood water on the road - don't attempt to drive through it.

8:59am

From the comments:

Poole council were actually doing exactly that yesterday - we're checking to see if Bournemouth were doing the same.

8:54am

More flooding expected in Dorset so the message from Dorset Travel is drive with care!

Many roads are likely to have dangerous puddles and large amounts of standing water.

8:41am

So, to summarise what we're expecting this weekend: rain of abut 20mm and winds of up to 60mph are forecast today. Tomorrow whould be drier but may well be very windy still. Then on Monday the rain is back.

Poole council are advising people not to drive today unless really necessary:

Barry Sparkes, street scene manager, Borough of Poole, asked people to only travel if essential.

"We recommend motorists check the Met office for up-to-date information and take extra care when driving, ensuring they are visible to other drivers and road users by keeping their headlights on even in daylight hours, and not under any circumstances attempting to drive through standing or flowing water if they are not sure how deep it is," he said

In Bournemouth it is of course the Christmas lights switch on tomorrow, but at the moment that is going ahead as planned.

8:04am

A couple of comments from overnight:

8:04am

Good morning everyone. We're still expected some serious rain today, with the Met Office weather warning valid from 10am but the worst expected towards the end of the day.

5:17pm

Just time for a quick round-up of the scenario in Poole - sorry we didn't bring you this earlier.

The heavy rain caused flooding in Lagland Street in Poole's Old Town and Poole Road opposite the bowling alley, as well as small pockets of localised flooding elsewhere. Pinecliff Road was closed at the junction with The Avenue by the Branksome Chine car park and reopened at about 9.30am this morning. 

Two trees were brought down  - one in West Way, Broadstone and one in Widworthy Drive, Broadstone.

Borough of Poole staff have been clearing leaves and unblocking gullies all day today.

Barry Sparkes, street scene manager, Borough of Poole, asked people to only travel if essential.

"We recommend motorists check the Met office for up-to-date information and take extra care when driving, ensuring they are visible to other drivers and road users by keeping their headlights on even in daylight hours, and not under any circumstances attempting to drive through standing or flowing water if they are not sure how deep it is," he said.

“Any incidents of severe flooding or fallen trees can be reported to the council on 0800 506050.”

5:09pm

We're signing off the day, bar any disasters - but we'll be back here tomorrow to give you as much info as we can about the threatened storm.

4:36pm

And if you're thinking that was just an excuse to rerun those pictures, then yes, it was.

During those floods, Poole bus station was 18 inches deep in water and five inches of water flowed down Sea Road. We're looking out some exact stats on how much rain fell then, just for comparison purposes.

The last time we had serious flooding in November was 2009, and you can read about that here. Winds reached 80mph, a car park collapsed and the Christmas market was damaged. See?

4:29pm

A comment from a non-local reader:

They are right, of course. Let's hope that it doesn't get as bad as August 2011 when Boscombe looked like this: 

and the gardens looked like this:

4:19pm

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3:08pm

An update from the council about the lights switch on on Sunday.

Ray Jones, Duty Emergency Planning Officer, told us: “We have contingency measures in place with regards the Christmas Lights switch-on event in the Square. We will continue to monitor the weather over the weekend and if necessary other arrangements will be made.”

We're also told that every column that has Christmas lights attached has been structurally tested.

Chris Knight, Engineering Technician, Bournemouth Council, said: “Prior to the town’s Christmas lights going up, all columns which have lights attached are structurally tested each year. We will continue to monitor the lights over the weekend and will take any appropriate action should any damage to the Christmas lights occur.”

2:22pm

The Dorset Echo also have this picture of a lorry blown over by winds on the A35 yesterday 

2:10pm

You may remember earlier we told you about the woman who had a lucky escape when a tree fell on her car... well here's a picture.

And here is where you can read the full story

2:07pm

Matchams Lane is still closed because of the flooding there, by the way.

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1:13pm

We've heard Matchams Lane is still closed due to flooding and the situation is being reviewed. Earlier today police were called to pull a man from his car and the road was closed after other vehicles became stuck:

Police were called to Matchams Lane in Christchurch around 7.45am to reports of a vehicle stuck in floodwater.
The driver of the black Saab, registered to a Christchurch man, was pulled out of the car by a passer-by.
Water was six inches up to the door of the car.
Officers closed the road after other vehicles began to get stuck, and notified the local authority.

We will of course let you know when the road has reopened.

12:51pm

We're keeping an eye of water levels on the Stour  - but in the meantime, here is a rather lovely picture from our Flickr group of flooding there, taken on Tuesday. 

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We've asked some of our local weather forecasters to explain why the uncertainty about where the rain will fall.

@Bournemouthecho The low pressure is developing west of Iberia, moves up over the bay of biscay and moves north east to the UK. This is a ..

— @WarehamWeather 23 November 2012

@Bournemouthecho slightly unusual path for low pressures to hit us, they usually barrel in from the west. It picks up a lot of warm ..

— @WarehamWeather 23 November 2012

@Bournemouthecho air/moisture. A slight deviation north means gales for all southern coasts, a move east means gales for west/south west ..

— @WarehamWeather 23 November 2012

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11:58am

In a fine example of how inexact the science of weather forecasting is; the Met Office has changed its mind again. 

Sunday's weather warning is back, but it looks like the worst of the rain will skirt over the top of us.  

Saturday's warning has been upgraded to amber for a section of the South West with 40mm of rain "likely" - fortunately for us, we're still only under the yellow cloud, although as we are seeing, it can change pretty quickly.

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We've not heard back from the council about contingency plans if there's flooding on Sunday for the lights switch on. But they have just posted this on their Facebook page so we assume they're planning to go ahead as scheduled!

Will you be coming down to Bournemouth Square on Sunday to see the Christmas lights switch-on? There's plenty going on in Bournemouth - check out all of the festivities coming up over the next few weeks: http://tiny.cc/2p27nw

11:40am

Weather warning update: The Met Office has cancelled Sunday's weather warning. However they are now predicting winds of up to 60mph and 20mm of rain on Saturday night. There are also flood warnings in place for the River Stourt, which you can see here.

11:32am

Another story from our sister paper the Dorset Echo, about the Portland Coastguard Helicopter.

"The helicopter was called out to help a canoeist who had capsized in 73 mph winds. The coastguard received a 999 call on Thursday afternoon reporting that a canoe had been dragged out to sea in winds near to storm force off the south Devon coast."

That is of course the helicopter under threat from cuts. You can read more about that here and if you want to, sign the petition to save it here.

11:15am

Durlston Country Park have just posted this on their Facebook page: 

The ‘calm after the storm’ this morning, with blue skies, streaked with high cloud, a gentle breeze and even some sunshine! Last night saw winds here reaching 59 miles per hour and the total rainfall was 20.8mm.

11:06am

Some thoughts from Steve Woolard, coastal engineering team leader at Christchurch Borough Council. He says: “Sunday and Monday are looking to be particularly wet again which could bring 30mm of rain in a short amount of time to already saturated areas and add to river levels.

“The water is taking a long time to come down the Stour from a few days ago and also from last night. The Stour has still got to peak and is due to around lunchtime today at Iford.

“We will be monitoring the situation closely over the weekend.”

10:33am

You'll notice from those pictures that the water level around the Square was very high last night. What with more rain forecast for Saturday and Sunday,we've asked the council what the score is with the Christmas lights switch on, which is scheduled for Sunday afternoon - entertainment at 3pm and lights at 5pm. Chris Jarvis, Su Pollard and Harry Redknapp are meant to be there. We will let know when they come back to us.

10:08am

Some pictures from last night from one of our artists: 

10:01am

Some info from our sister paper the Dorset Echo - the west of the county seems to have had it worse than us.

• The new Thomas Hardye Leisure Centre in Dorchester was evacuated at winds caused damage to the roof of the multi-million pound facility.

• Weymouth lifeboat was launched last night as a cargo ship began to drag its anchor. A spokesman for the RNLI said: “The lifeboat was launched at 6.40pm last night to stand-by the cargo vessel Nadja which was dragging its anchor & in danger of running ashore near Bowleaze cove."
• In Weymouth a mum had a lucky escape after a tree fell on the roof of her car while she was sitting in it. 

More info on all of those stories at the link.

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My fellow webber Sarah Cartlidge walks to work along the seafront. She took this picture on the way in today...

8:47am

Some people were clearly enjoying the winds yesterday... we've been sent this pic by a reader.

8:41am

Here's a piece from today's paper about being prepared for flooding: 

WARNINGS are being made about the high risk of floods in Dorset this winter.
Emergency services have already been helping people from high water this week and due to the saturated conditions more flooding could hit after only small amounts of rain.
And yesterday afternoon, a 64.5mph gust was recorded in Poole Harbour.
A joint warning from Dorset County Council, the Environment Agency and Wessex Water comes because of river levels being full, the ground being saturated and groundwater levels remaining exceptionally high.
Brian Richards, flood risk manager at Dorset County Council, said: “It’s important that people prepare as much as possible for flooding.
“There is a very real risk and it won’t take much rainfall for flooding to occur.”
Areas that could be affected include the Winterbourne valleys, the Frome and Piddle, Tarrant, River Wey and the River Allen.
If flooding occurs there will be a risk of flood water being contaminated in some areas and people are being advised to avoid coming into direct contact with it.
Guy Parker from the Environment Agency, said the current risk of groundwater flooding may mean “some usual methods of flood protection, for example sandbags, may not be effective”.

Hard to imagine we were on drought watch about six months ago.

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The Met Office weather warning for tomorrow says: 

Many areas are likely to experience a period of very wet and very windy weather over the weekend. The public should be aware that some flooding is likely, and winds could potentially cause damage to buildings and uproot some trees.

Given the saturated ground there is potential for the rainfall to lead to considerable disruption in some areas, though at this stage details are uncertain. Equally some regions will escape with minimal impacts.

We will keep you updated!

8:32am

According to this, wind speeds in Bournemouth were up to 50km per hour last night - amazing (and marvellous) that there hasn't been more damage. The Met Office Hurn Observations page has gusts of 51 miles per hour at 8pm last night.

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Some more tweets from last night: 

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There doesn't seem to be much residual flooding - the only problem that we know of is at Matchams Lane, outside the post office.

8:23am

8:22am

We're told that during the worst of it last night, 4.4mm of rain fell in eight minutes.

@fergieweather @Netweather @RehamKhan1 @Bournemouthecho Squall/Lewp passed over, 86.6mm/hr rate almost instantly, 4.4mm fell in eight mins!

— @WarehamWeather 22 November 2012

Gusts of up to 65mph were recorded in Poole.

8:21am

You can tell us what it was like where you are in the comments, by texting 80360, starting your message BE, or emailing digital@bournemouthecho.co.uk. 

8:20am

Morning! Against all the odds it's turned into a beautiful morning after last night's storms. We're not expecting any more rain until tomorrow - of which more later - but we are rounding up yesterday's events.