Members of the public are being warned not to risk their lives by driving through flood water following the death of one driver and predictions of further localised downpours at the end of the wettest April for 100 years.
As dozens of flood warnings and alerts remained in place across much of England and parts of Wales , the Met Office predicted more rain in the south overnight and on Tuesday.
The 52-year-old and his dog died when their car became completely submerged in 1.5m (5ft) of fast-flowing water while driving across Headley ford on the Hampshire–Berkshire border . His 54-year-old wife was able to escape from the car and was treated in hospital for shock but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Inspector Jon Snook, from Hampshire police's roads policing unit, said: "We believe the car drove into the ford from the Hampshire side where it appears as though it was swept downstream and became submerged.
"On arrival, we co-ordinated a rescue operation with the fire service to try to free the man. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The spokesman said emergency services had attended the scene to recover the car, which had become completely submerged. A spokeswoman for Hampshire fire and rescue service said crews from Hampshire and Berkshire had attended the scene after being alerted at 9.07am on Monday.
"They quickly located the car, which was completely submerged under 5ft of fast-flowing water. The woman from the car had already managed to swim free of the vehicle and reach the bank," she said. "Using ladders from both sides of the banks ... [Firefighters] broke the window of the vehicle and pulled a man free."
A witness, Simon Hiscock, who lives in nearby Headley, said 11 emergency vehicles had arrived at the ford. He said rescuers tried to free the man and the couple's pet dog from the Toyota, which was upside down and submerged. "A man walking his dogs found them. They were trapped in the car," he said.
With up to 20mm to 30mm (0.8in to 1.2in) of rain forecast for southern England on Monday night, the Environment Agency remained on "high alert" for flooding amid fears already saturated river catchments will struggle to cope with more downpours.
April was the wettest across the UK since records dating back to 1910 began, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.
The Met Office said six of its weather stations had seen more than three times their usual monthly average in April, and Liscombe in Somerset had seen the most rainfall, with 273.8mm (10.8 inches) of rain compared with its 86.4mm (3.4 inches) April average.
Much of the rain has been focused on the south of the UK, with England recording more rainfall than Scotland. Despite the heavy showers, sunshine levels have not been far off the average, the Met Office said.
A total of 37 flood warnings were in place on Monday, including 20 in the south-west and a handful each in the Midlands, north-east and East Anglia. There were also more than 155 less serious flood alerts.
Deluges and high winds last weekend brought powerlines down, cutting off electricity to homes and disrupting travel.
However, the Environment Agency said only 20 properties have been flooded across the country and that flood defences had protected many, including 600 homes in Taunton, Somerset, and 25,000 properties along the River Don through Doncaster and Bentley.
Taunton Deane Cricket Club was submerged, fallen trees caused dozens of incidents in Wiltshire, two roads had to be closed due to flooding, and in Devon, the Torquay-based attraction Living Coasts was closed because of the weather.
Elsewhere, a caravan park in Great Billing, Northampton, was being evacuated over concerns that overnight rain could cause flash flooding after another holiday park nearby, Cogonhoe Mill, started evacuating its residents over the weekend.
Unfinished flood defences in Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire, which were shored up over the weekend kept water out of the town.
Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire – which was badly hit by the 2007 floods – experienced some localised flooding, but nothing unusual for the area, while rail services were also affected.
Heavy flooding has also forced the cancellation of the Badminton horse trials in Gloucestershire, which were due to start on Thursday.
Last cancelled in 1987, the trials are one of the premier events on the equestrian calendar and results in dressage, cross-country and showjumping were expected to play a part in selection of British hopefuls for the Olympics.
A statement on the event's website said: "The recent exceptional rainfall has left the ground at Badminton totally waterlogged and partially flooded. Further rain is due this week leaving no chance of the ground drying out."
Yogi Breisner, performance manager for the British eventing team, said: "It is a real shame that it has been called off, especially in an Olympic year when a lot of the riders and horses would have been on show. I don't think it will majorly affect the Olympic preparations though.
"We always had contingency plans in place which you have to do with horses because there is so much uncertainty. You need to have a Plan B, C and D."
Despite the heavy rain, swathes of England are still in a state of drought, with warnings that the downpours were not enough to counteract the effects of two unusually dry winters.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "While we welcome the rain we have received recently, we cannot be complacent and still need everyone to save water where they can."
