Met Office names areas facing heavy rain on Wednesday with 42 counties at risk

Met Office names areas facing heavy rain on Wednesday with 42 counties at risk More than 40 areas are bracing for downpours as a band of rain moves across the UK on Wednesday, with the Met Office warning one region is set to bear the brunt Brits are being warned to brace for a soaking as heavy rain sweeps across 42 counties on Wednesday. The latest Met Office weather maps show downpours moving across the country tomorrow evening, with Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester and Nottingham among the areas in England set to be battered. Maps for September 16 turn blue as rain moves in, with some counties seeing up to 4mm of rainfall per hour. At 7pm, the heaviest showers will be concentrated over Scotland, with Perth and Kinross, the Highlands, Stirling and Lanarkshire all expected to bear the brunt. Dumfries and Ayrshire are also forecast to see showers, although these are expected to be lighter, while rain will also hit Down and Antrim in Northern Ireland. By 8pm, heavy rain is forecast across Moray, Aberdeenshire and Fife in Scotland, where up to 4mm could fall in an hour. The rain will also spread to cover Dumfries and Galloway, as well as Cumbria, while heavier showers are expected across parts of Northern Ireland, in particular Tyrone and Armagh. In North Wales, Conwy and Gwynedd are also forecast to see rain showers. By 11pm, parts of the Met Office map turns yellow, indicating the heaviest rainfall of the evening. Dumfries and Galloway, South Ayrshire, Stirling and swathes of the Highlands could all see up to 8mm of rain per hour. For the rest of Scotland, the band of heavy rain could bring 0.5mm to 4mm of rain per hour. Parts of Northern England could see up to 2mm of rain while North Wales is expected to see scattered showers. Southern and central England, along with most of Wales, should largely escape the wet weather. The Met Office's weather forecast for Wednesday reads: "Wednesday morning will still bring showers to several areas, including Northern Ireland, Wales, southwest England and the Midlands. "Some will move into central and eastern England later, but brighter breaks should develop between them. "Western Scotland will have an improved start before cloud thickens and rain approaches later in the afternoon." Counties set for rain on Wednesday - Yorkshire - Lancashire - Derbyshire - Nottinghamshire - Gloucestershire - Worcestershire - Staffordshire - Cheshire - Leicestershire - Lincolnshire - Aberdeenshire - Angus - Argyll - Ayrshire - Banffshire - Berwickshire - Buteshire - Caithness - Clackmannanshire - Dumfriesshire - Dunbartonshire - East Lothian - Fifeshire - Inverness-shire - Kincardineshire - Kinross-shire - Kirkcudbrightshire - Lanarkshire - Midlothian - Moray - Nairnshire - Orkney - Peeblesshire - Perthshire - Renfrewshire - Ross and Cromarty - Roxburghshire - Selkirkshire - Stirlingshire - Sutherland - West Lothian - Wigtownshire