River Irwell banks burst this weekend as Salford was hit by Storm Bert

The River Irwell burst its banks late into Saturday night after Greater Manchester was hit with heavy rainfall from Storm Bert. 

The river that acts as the boundary marker that separates Manchester and Salford, was hit with torrential rainfall last night that led to the waterways breaching pathways along the Irwell.

The issues of flooding were called following the Met Office predicting between 20-40mm rain fairly widely, with even some areas of the country hit with 50-90mm of rain.

#StormBert is expected to bring several weather impacts across the UK on Saturday ⚠️

Here is an overview of what we can expect

Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/HWsihjB5tB

— Met Office (@metoffice) November 22, 2024

As Jason Kelly a Met Office Chief Meteorologist said: “Heavy rainfall will affect much of the UK this weekend. Rain is expected to develop during Saturday morning.

“Becoming particularly heavy and persistent overnight and into Sunday.

“Accumulations of 50-75 mm are expected to fall fairly widely during this time.”

As he continued: “Storm Bert is what we call a ‘multi-hazard event’, bringing snow, rain and wind to the UK for the majority of the weekend.”

The pathways along the River Irwell by Regent Road were seen to flooding, with the river busting its banks and continued to rise throughout the evening.

More than 200 flood alerts and warnings were put in place across the weekend as Storm Bert continued to bring both rain and strong winds.

On the Saturday night the River Irwell burst in Salford around Regent Road at 7pm, with areas further up the river in Greater Manchester flooding – with the river reportedly reaching up to 2.33 metres near Stubbins.

The flood alert of the River Irwell also extended to the Rivers Irk and Medlock, Wince and Worsley Brooks.

The water levels around the Salford pathways continued to be flooded until yesterday afternoon, with residents warned to be cautious along the river.

With other areas also being close to flooding, with water rising around Lower Broughton Road.

Following the warnings over the weekend, they have now changed with it being shared that “there is no longer a risk of flooding in the area.”

The water levels have since dropped, however residents are warned to “continue to take care on waterside roads and footpaths and don’t put yourself in unnecessary danger.”