Some areas of Tewkesbury have already flooded

Three warnings remain on the river north of Tewkesbury to Gloucester, and one on the Avon near Tewkesbury.

The head of Gloucestershire's police flood team said only two roads were closed on Thursday afternoon - the B4213 and Toadsmoor Road.

Chief Inspector Steve Radcliffe said: "It is good news."

"The original prediction was that 105mm of rain would fall - now that is just 50mm. That will not be in Gloucester but in Birmingham, coming down to us in four or five days time.

"That is normal for the time of year and comfortably within the safety margins that we can plan for.

We are ready if the worst should happen Gloucestershire Police

"The delay is important because the flood plain between Tewkesbury and Gloucester is full. If we had a larger amount of rain in the upland area it would have come down river without the time to dissipate."

The Environment Agency reminded people to check its flood warnings and sign up to its floodline alert service.

Spokesman David Throup said: "The Severn has stabilised."

"However, flood warnings are still in place for the lower Avon and the Severn down from Worcester."

"We are watching very carefully over the next few days. There is not a lot more capacity in the system so any rain we do get is going to raise levels.

"We are on alert and running incident rooms 24/7. This is not a precise science and it is difficult to predict precisely where the rain is going to fall."

Silver command

BBC meteorologist, Richard Angwin, said more rain was expected in Gloucestershire from Friday morning until Saturday night.

"A total of 30 to 40mm of rain will only add to the problems.

"Over the same period, rainfall totals over the Welsh mountains will exceed 100mm and some of this will work its way into the Severn, so the situation may remain critical into the early part of next week."

Gloucestershire Police spokeswoman Kate Nelmes said that Silver Command had been established to allow the county's emergency services to work closely and share information.

"We are not expecting it to be as bad as last summer but forewarned is forearmed. We are making plans to ensure the county does not grind to a halt," she said.

"We are ready if the worst should happen."

Gloucestershire County Council appealed to motorists not to ignore road closed and road flooded signs.

It said there had been several incidents of drivers ignoring the signs, getting stuck in deep water and needing assistance.