Heavy rain is continuing to fall, amid warnings that parts of the UK face the risk of flooding.
The Met Office has issued amber warnings for parts of eastern Scotland, the West Midlands, south-west England and most of Wales.
Police warned motorists to take care, while in Essex, firefighters rescued a family of four when their car became trapped in floodwater.
Yellow, less severe, warnings for rain affect much of the rest of the country.
Rain is forecast to continue overnight, with warnings in force until 06:00 BST on Sunday.
The last time amber warnings for rain were issued was in March, the Met Office said.
The places worst hit so far on Saturday include parts of Exmoor, with 84mm of rain recorded in 36 hours in Liscombe and 74.4mm recorded in Brendon Hill.
The wind direction associated with the weekend's rainfall is "unusual" and rainfall was likely to occur in some areas that are normally well sheltered and drier, the Met Office said.
Drains could also become blocked with debris as trees are now in full leaf.
In areas covered by amber weather warnings, the Met Office warned deep and fast-flowing floodwater may pose a "danger to life" in some areas and there was a "good chance" communities could be cut off.
"Significant gaps remain" between the UK and the EU as Brexit negotiations continue, the European Commission's president said, but talks will continue in an attempt to strike a deal.
On Twitter, Ursula von der Leyen said she has had a "good phone call" with Boris Johnson, during which they discussed how negotiations have been progressing so far.
The pair spoke via video conference and said afterwards they have told their chief negotiators to continue to push "intensively" to strike a post-Brexit trade agreement.
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Road hauliers entering Kent may need a permit after the Brexit transition period ends, just 100 days from now.
A joint statement issued by Ms von der Leyen and Mr Johnson said: "They agreed on the importance of finding an agreement, if at all possible, as a strong basis for a strategic EU-UK relationship in future.
"They endorsed the assessment of both chief negotiators that progress had been made in recent weeks but that significant gaps remained, notably but not only in the areas of fisheries, the level playing field, and governance.
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"They instructed their chief negotiators to work intensively in order to try to bridge those gaps.
"They agreed to speak on a regular basis on this issue."
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The talks that took place last week were said to be the final scheduled round before the prime minister's deadline for securing a deal of the EU Council meeting on 15 October - a date that is only 12 days away.
Mr Johnson said earlier on Saturday the UK would go on pushing for a Canada-style deal with the EU, but would also be ready to end its current trade ties and default to general World Trade Organisation rules, which include quotas and tariffs.
He said: "I think there's a good deal to be done. There's a big opportunity for both sides to do well."
The EU too has said a deal must be sealed by the end of October to leave enough time for ratification by the end of this year.
With this in mind, Mr Johnson and the EC president have now tasked chief negotiators, Britain's Lord Frost and the EU's Michel Barnier with getting back together and pushing to strike a deal before time runs out.
Lord Frost said that the joint statement issued by the PM's office instructs him and Mr Barnier to work intensively to bridge the gap between them and that they would begin as soon as they could.
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Michael Gove is adamant that clauses which have 'caused concern' to some in the EU will not be removed from the Internal Market Bill.
Reuters reported that more trade talks are due in London next week and in Brussels the following week before the 27 national EU leaders meet to assess progress.
An estimated trillion euros worth of annual trade are at stake if they fail to reach a deal.
The EU says it will not implement any agreement if London undermines the earlier Brexit divorce treaty with its draft Internal Market Bill.
"We will continue to maintain a calm and respectful attitude, and we will remain united and determined until the end of these negotiations," Mr Barnier added in a statement.
Brussels claims the prime minister is breaching the "good faith" promise both sides signed up to in the withdrawal agreement struck and passed by parliament last year.
The warnings of floodwater and potential for communities to be cut off relates to areas covered by an amber warning.
The weekend will see a "spell of challenging and disruptive weather" and Saturday will be "a very wet and cold day for many", said Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Laura Ellam.
The amber warnings are in force until 06:00 BST on Sunday - but the heavy rain is expected to continue until about noon as the stormy conditions push north and west.
The wind direction associated with the rainfall is "unusual" and rainfall is likely to occur in some areas that are normally well sheltered and drier, the Met Office said.
It added buses and trains may face delays or cancellations, because of "difficult" driving conditions and drains could become blocked with debris, as trees are now in full leaf.
Carol Holt from the Environment Agency said "widespread and persistent rain" is likely to lead to flooding.
The forecasts are for 25-50mm (1-2 inch) of rainfall in many areas, but 40-70mm in Scotland, and 70-90mm possible over higher ground in Wales and south-west England.
There is the potential for more than 120mm of rain on some of the most exposed high ground of Snowdonia and Exmoor and higher ground in Scotland.
A murder inquiry has been launched after a man was stabbed in the neck in a historic Norfolk market town.
The victim, who was attacked during "a disturbance", was treated by paramedics on Bacton Road in North Walsham on Friday night.
Despite their efforts, he died at the scene shortly after police arrived just before 11.30pm.
Two men were arrested at the scene - a man in his 40s on suspicion of murder, and a man in his 30s on suspicion of assault.
They were taken to police stations in Aylsham and Wymondham where they are being questioned.
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Police have cordoned off a house in Antingham Drive, a cul de sac just off Bacton Road, while investigations are carried out.
A white tent was set up on Bacton Road near the entrance to North Walsham New Cemetery, which backs onto the cul de sac, local newspaper North Norfolk News reported.
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Norfolk Police said detectives will be carrying out a number of enquiries in the area today, and urged anyone who may have witnessed the incident or may have seen or heard anything to contact the force.
Anybody with information can contact Norfolk Police on 101 quoting incident number 477 of 2 October, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
After a steady decline since the first peak in April, confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK have been rising again since July, with the rate of growth increasing sharply from the end of August.
On Friday, another 6,968 people tested positive, slightly down from more than 7,000 a day earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, Germany has issued a warning to its citizens against travelling to Scotland and northern England because of increases in infections.
Announcing the latest restrictions, Mr Hancock told the House of Commons "cases continue to rise fast" in Teesside and the north-west of England.
Knowsley, an area in the Liverpool City Region, had the second highest infection rate in the country at 262 per 100,000 on 27 September. Liverpool's weekly infection rate rose to 258, Warrington's was 163 and Hartlepool and Middlesbrough both had 121 cases per 100,000 people.
Burnley, where no further restrictions are yet to be imposed beyond the Lancashire-wide ones already introduced, has the highest infection rate in England at 327 per 100,000.
Mr Hancock also "recommended against all social mixing between households", but said he wanted the restrictions to stay in place for "as short a time as possible".
People in those areas should also:
Not attend professional or amateur sports events as spectators
Only visit care homes in exceptional circumstances
People should not travel unless it is essential - for example to school and work
But people in Liverpool had been expecting the tighter measures.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Matt Ashton, director of public health for Liverpool, acknowledged there were "so many different rules, so many different regulations, it is confusing for people to understand".
He added: "We need to move the conversation now to people really understanding the risk of Covid in our communities... to do the right thing and just to minimise their contact with other people as much as possible."
Andy McDonald, Labour MP for Middlesbrough, said it was "imperative" people "accept and abide by" the new measures but called for "improvement in communication" between the government and local councils.
He said: "These restrictions have been imposed without due consideration or dialogue. We have no idea of what exit strategy is planned or what achievements have to be attained in order to see these restrictions lifted. It is simply not good enough."
Alice Wiseman, director of public health for Gateshead, said introducing new restrictions was a "tricky balance" but was about putting a "package of measures together that enable us to keep as much of the economy open while reducing the transmission of the virus".
A spokesman for Northumbria University, in Newcastle, confirmed 770 students had tested positive for coronavirus, 78 of whom are symptomatic. All infected students, and their close contacts, are self-isolating for 14 days in line with government guidance.
