A yellow rain warning has been issued by the Met Office as dozens of areas are at risk of flooding.
The warning affects the north east coast of England until 9am today while a further warning for ice is in place across the north of Scotland – where temperatures dipped as low as -10C overnight.
The Environment Agency has issued more than 60 flood warnings across England with a higher risk across the south west – after heavy snow plunged much of the country into chaos last week.
At 6am this morning 69 flood warnings were in place, mainly in Dorset, Somerset and across the Midlands.
Areas with a higher risk of flooding include locations next to a river and places with low lying properties.
The meteorologist warned flooding of homes and businesses is possible as rain continues to dampen the country, while spray and flooding on roads is likely to make journey times longer.
An aerial view of flooding on the River Frome at Stratton near Dorchester in Dorset yesterday
A new map shows dozens of areas are affected by flood warnings
Bus and train services are also likely to be affected due to the severe weather conditions.
The Met Office urged people to park cars outside flood zones and turn off gas water and electricity supplies.
It is deemed unsafe to walk or swim through floodwater and those affected by fast flowing or deep water should call 999 and wait for help.
CrossCountry Trains said heavy flooding was blocking lines between Edinburgh Waverley and Newcastle with industrial action by train drivers adding to disruption. Rail users in the south west have also been warned flooding would affect services.
Great Western Railway said flooding caused significant disruption on Monday and advised people not to travel between Bristol and Exeter or any trip between London Paddington and Devon or Cornwall.
The company said: ‘We are expecting disruption between London Paddington and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall into Tuesday morning as floods subside.’
Passengers on long-distance services were advised to avoid travelling by train if possible in the morning.
Snow has continued to make life difficult in parts of the country with Cumbria Police saying they expected conditions to be ‘challenging’ for the rest of the week, although the major incident declared in the area has been ended.
Sand bags are being used in destinations particularly affected by flooding as rain continues to fall
The Met Office said rain would ease across England and Wales with brighter spells later, but another cold day will see wintry showers in the north and north west.
Cloud will remain overnight in the south and south east with frost and some freezing fog forming by dawn.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said the risk of snow was lessening and would ‘more or less be confined to Scottish mountains’ by the end of the week.
Yesterday motorists were warned that they face ‘very treacherous icy conditions’ – and some commuters ended up using skis to travel in the worst-hit areas of the Lake District.
Some drivers abandoned vehicles to trudge for up to six hours home through the drifts, including one man who skied for over an hour from Ings to Bowness. The man, known only as Rory, said: ‘I just got my ski touring kit out the boot and started skiing… At the bottom of the hill a load of people were clapping. It was good fun.’
Some 21 schools in Somerset were closed yesterday because of the bad weather – after Cumberland Council told parents nearly 40 schools were shut due to the snow.
On South Western Railway yesterday, passengers were urged ‘not to travel’ between Salisbury and Exeter due to flooding. Flooding in Taunton also blocked all lines, with some Great Western Railway services towards London being diverted via Bristol.
And snow meant Northern Rail told passengers ‘do not travel’ between Lancaster and Carlisle via Barrow-in-Furness and also between Oxenholme and Windermere.
It comes after hundreds of drivers were rescued from cars in Cumbria on Sunday when drifts more than a foot deep blocked roads and brought down power lines.
Some reported being stranded for up to 19 hours without food or water before help came. Around 2,500 residents spent yesterday without electricity as engineers battled treacherous conditions to repair lines damaged by the severe blizzards.