A NEW supercomputer that will better forecast severe weather and help in the global fight against climate change is to receive a £1.2 billion investment from the UK Government.

The state-of-the-art technology will be managed by the Met Office with the aim of offering more sophisticated rainfall predictions and better forecasting at airports.

Today’s announcement comes as Britain suffered its second weekend of high winds and torrential rainfall resulting in floods due to Storm Dennis.

Parts of the country were battered by winds of more than 90mph while in some places more than a month’s worth of rain fell in 48 hours, leading to a record number of flood warnings and alerts south of the Border.

READ MORE: Scotland's weather: Severe flood warnings remain in force in Scottish Borders

Police declared major incidents in South Wales, Shropshire and Herefordshire. One man in his 60s was pulled dead from the River Tawe in Swansea.

Severe flood warnings were also issued for the Borders, where emergency crews rescued two people “just in the nick of time” after their car was swept from the road and pinned to a metal gate by a torrent of floodwater.

However, by late morning yesterday, the worst had passed in Scotland and the flood warnings were no longer in force.

In West Yorkshire, the MoD deployed Army personnel to assist in areas badly hit by flooding during last weekend’s Storm Ciara.

At airports, many flights were grounded for safety reasons with British Airways and easyJet confirming hundreds of cancellations. CalMac cancelled several ferry crossings.

On Saturday, two bodies were pulled from rough seas before the worst of the storm hit. Yesterday, a man was declared dead after being pulled from Swansea’s River Tawenear Trebanos Rugby Club in Swansea.

News of the supercomputer came in the first announcement from Business Secretary Alok Sharma

in his new role as President of the COP26 climate summit, which will take place in Glasgow in November.

He said: “Over the last 30 years, new technologies have meant more accurate weather forecasting with storms being predicted up to five days in advance.

“Come rain or shine, our significant investment for a new supercomputer will further speed up weather predictions, helping people be more prepared for weather disruption from planning travel journeys to deploying flood defences.”

Part of the funding will go towards investing in supercomputers at Edinburgh University, which Douglas Ross, the Scotland Office Minister, said would keep the capital at the forefront of cutting-edge technology.

“The University of Edinburgh facility will benefit scientists from across the UK as they are given the opportunity to use this new technology.

“This additional funding builds on the work of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal which is creating world-leading hubs for AI research.”

The MP for Moray added: “The UK Government is committed to combating the impact of climate change on top of creating thousands of high-earning jobs and ensuring businesses and public services in the UK are the first to benefit from the latest innovations.”

READ MORE: Scotland's weather: Travel disruption expected as Met Office issue warnings over Storm Dennis 

Data collected by the supercomputer will also be used to help more accurately predict storms, select the most suitable locations for flood defences and predict changes to the global climate. According to the services, working collaboratively to ensure that the benefits of our work help Government, the public and industry make better decisions to stay safe and thrive,” he added.

The Government hopes the technology will be able to help ensure communities can better prepare for weather disruption such as that from recent storms Dennis and Ciara.

The supercomputer itself is expected to cost £854 million with remaining funds set to go towards investment in the Observations network and programme offices over a 10-year period from 2022 to 2032.

The supercomputer announcement came as much of Britain battened down the hatches for another weather onslaught.

Severe flood warnings were issued for the Scottish Borders. Emergency service crews rescued two people “just in the nick of time” near Newcastleton after their car was swept from the road and pinned to a metal gate by a torrent of floodwater.

However, by late Sunday morning, the worst had passed and the flood warnings were no longer in force.

In West Yorkshire, the Ministry of Defence deployed British Army personnel to assist people in areas badly hit by flooding during last weekend’s Storm Ciara.

At airports, many flights were grounded for safety reasons with British Airways and easyJet confirming hundreds of cancellations. Ferry firm CalMac cancelled several crossings.

On Saturday, two bodies were pulled from rough seas before the worst of the storm hit. Yesterday, a man was declared dead after being pulled from the River Tawe near Trebanos Rugby Club in Swansea.

Indeed, South Wales bore the brunt of the latest deluge.

Police declared a major incident after severe floods hit the region. Streets were evacuated with the help of a lifeboat in some of the worst-hit areas and people moved to emergency rescue centres after their properties and businesses were devastated by water from overflowing rivers.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service received an “unprecedented” 1,300 calls during Sunday and had carried out 76 life rescues.

A total of 156.2mm of rain fell at Crai Reservoir in Powys in the 48 hours from Friday to Sunday morning; the average monthly rainfall for February in Wales is 111.1mm.

Yet as Storm Dennis finally began to move away experts warned the UK still faced wet and windy weather as well as flooding. The Environment Agency urged people to remain vigilant and said “significant” river and surface water flooding was expected to continue into this week.