M62 floods as huge traffic jam sparks miles of delays over closed lane

Flooding has sparked closures on a major motorway[1] this evening, with traffic stretching back miles after heavy rain and wind hammered the country today. The M62 has closed due to torrential rain near Huddersfield, forcing a lane closure and causing traffic to build along the westbound stretch just a few hours after the Met Office[2] issued a yellow weather warning for the area. Alongside warnings for the country, the service has issued a specific alert for the M62, while adding that strong winds and rain could cause localised damage.

00:13Paige Ingram

The weather extremes from yesterday

It was an extremely wet start to the weekend for some

These are the weather extremes for Saturday 20 September pic.twitter.com/UU16hw8UYr[3]

-- Met Office (@metoffice) September 20, 2025[4]21:25Liam Doyle

Maps show traffic clearing on the M62

Traffic now appears to be clearing along the M62, according to maps from the AA, which no longer show the stretch of motorway in amber - indicating traffic was backed up.

New maps show there are no longer significant delays on the m6220:49Liam Doyle

M62 one of several roads hit hard by severe weather

The M62 is one of several roads hit by severe weather this evening, with flooding reported across England, according to Traffic England. The service states that the M56, M6, M61, and A50 are suffering from similar conditions, with incidents marked as "severe" across the country.

20:08Liam Doyle

Met Office's warning for thousands of motorists

Thousands of drivers taking to the motorway this evening have been warned to take precautions bu the Met Office as weather conditions get dicey on the road. In its yellow warning for the Midlands and northern England, which includes the affected stretch of the M62, the Met Office has urged people to check conditions before they go out.

The agency warned: "Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary."

19:47Liam Doyle

Traffic England marks incident 'severe'

Traffic England has marked the incident as "severe" on its website, adding flooding has impacted junctions J24 and J22.

19:30Liam Doyle

Map shows traffic backup following flooding

Maps on the AA's traffic monitoring site shows the backup growing on the stretch of motorway this evening, with the flooding having been reported as an incident.

Maps show the stretch of motorway that has been shut this evening19:18Liam Doyle

Warning issued for M62 as 'travel disruption' expected

The Met Office, alongside its general yellow alerts for the country, has warned that the M62 could be specifically affected by the severe weather this evening.

Heavy rain, with thundery bursts continues to spread northeast across Wales and northern England Flooding and travel disruption is possible in areas such as the M62 corridor and in Pennine regions this evening. Strong winds could in addition cause some damage in places too pic.twitter.com/vcmrpK5KVK[5]

-- Met Office (@metoffice) September 20, 2025[6]19:03Liam Doyle

Closure follows Met Office yellow warning

The closure on the M62 this evening follows warnings from the Met Office that heavy rain will hammer parts of the country, especially in the Midlands and northern England.

The warning states: "A band of rain, heavy at times, across Wales, and northern and western England is expected to remain slow-moving during Saturday morning before making erratic eastward progress, eventually clearing early on Sunday."

References

1. ^ motorway (www.mirror.co.uk)
2. ^ Met Office (www.mirror.co.uk)
3. ^ pic.twitter.com/UU16hw8UYr (t.co)
4. ^ September 20, 2025 (twitter.com)
5. ^ pic.twitter.com/vcmrpK5KVK (t.co)
6. ^ September 20, 2025 (twitter.com)