A yellow rain warning has been issued for Sunday across most of northern England and Wales, with travel disruption possible and major outdoor events affected.

The Met Office said the region would widely see 20-30mm of rain, while places over higher ground could see up to 50-70mm as wet weather persists across the entire weekend.

It follows heavy and persistent rainfall on Saturday throughout the country, with Wales, south-west and north-west England all seeing substantial downpours.

Both The Open Championship and The Ashes, taking place in Merseyside and Manchester respectively, were plagued by showers throughout the day that affected play.

The UK’s poor weather is due to the position of the jet stream, which is also pushing high pressure to the south where parts of Europe have a heatwave.

Jonathan Vautrey, meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “The band of rain that we’ve currently got from Northern Ireland down to Wales and parts of central and southern England, such as Oxfordshire and Hampshire, will continue to push its way northwards overnight.

“By tomorrow morning, it’s going to stall across the central swathe of the UK in Northern Ireland, northern England and parts of north Wales.

“It primarily sits there for a fair amount of Sunday, particularly in England and Wales, which is why the Met Office has issued a yellow rain warning for that area.

“We have had a relatively wet Saturday, so topping up with the rainfall expected quite persistently throughout Sunday does have the potential to cause some travel disruption and issues with any outdoor events taking place through there.”

Elsewhere, parts of south-west, central and south-eastern England will see a slightly better day with a few brighter spells trying to emerge but still a scattering of showers around, with one or two possibly on the heavier side.

The best of the sunny spells will continue to be across Scotland, with temperatures rising above 22C on Saturday, the forecaster added.

Temperatures in southern England will be about average for the time of year, but northern England will be feeling “particularly cool” with the rain and cloud meaning it will be “three degrees or so below the average”.