Thailand faces more hardship from unseasonable floods that have killed 40 people in its south, with more rain expected in the major rubber-producing and tourist region in coming days, a top disaster agency official said on Sunday.

Persistent heavy rain well into what should be the dry season has triggered floods across the south, cutting road and rail links, threatening crops and affecting about 1.6 million people, said Chatchai Promlert, head of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.

A woman walks by an overflowing lake on Koh Samui, Thailand earlier in January, 2017 Credit:AP

"The worst isn't over. We're expecting more rain this week while clean-up efforts are underway in places where the waters have subsided," Chatchai told Reuters.

The Meteorological Department said on its website more rain was expected on Monday.</s>Thailand faces more hardship from unseasonable floods that have killed 40 people in its south, with more rain expected in the major rubber-producing and tourist region in coming days, a top disaster agency official said Sunday.

Persistent heavy rain well into what should be the dry season has triggered floods across the south, cutting road and rail links, threatening crops and affecting about 1.6 million people, said Chatchai Promlert, head of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.

“The worst isn’t over. We’re expecting more rain this week while clean-up efforts are underway in places where the waters have subsided,” Chatchai told Reuters.

The Meteorological Department said on its website more rain was expected Monday.

The rainy season in Thailand normally takes place from June to November. The floods, which began January 1, have followed unseasonably heavy rain.

Thailand is one of the world’s most important producers of natural rubber and the national rubber authority said Thursday output in 2016-2017 would be about 10 percent lower because of the floods. Global rubber prices have spiked on concern about the impact.

Flooding occurs in Thailand regularly during the rainy season but January is traditionally sunny and clear, and a high season for the tourist industry, including in southern seaside resorts.

The country saw its worst flooding in half a century in 2011, when heavy rain beginning in July that year over northern regions led to six months of inundations, including in the central plains, where industrial estates have replaced rice fields in many places.

The floods submerged a third of the country, killed more than 900 people and crippled industry.

The army played a major role in relief efforts in 2011 while the then civilian government was criticized for what many saw as lackluster disaster efforts.

 The army, which seized power in a 2014 coup, has again been playing a major role in helping with relief efforts.</s>CLEVELAND - Jay Reynolds snapped a picture of the moon this morning as it floated overhead. It was a quiet, uneventful night. Some dense fog did form in pockets well inland this morning.

The milky sun will transition to mostly cloudy skies tonight as lows dip into the lower 20s, seasonably cool with no precip expected. By all measures, this will be a quiet January forecast for a couple of days.

Tuesday the rain will begin and here is a computer model forecast.

Hopefully, the rain will not get too heavy or prolonged due to flooding concerns.

We’re looking at 10-15 degrees above with highs in the 50’s for much of the week. Check out the 14-day anomaly trend-line on one of the computer models we look at:

See the latest Fox 8 Day Forecast below.</s>Our WEATHER AWARE DAY continues into Tuesday for light snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain – AND OBVIOUSLY ICY ROADS. While the north could have 1-2″ of snow accumulation, lesser amounts of snow expected south – But also more in the way of sleet and freezing rain. Ice accumulation could range from a light glaze, up to 1/4″. ALL UNTREATED SURFACES COULD BECOME VERY SLIPPERY.

Otherwise, the week ahead looks rather mild. In fact, high temperatures later this week will climb into the 40s, which will melt much of our current snowpack and any ice that lingers.

Take StormCenter 2 On the Go! Radar, forecast, localized alerts and StormCenter 2 24/7. Click here for information on our weather app for iOS and Android!

TONIGHT:

 Freezing rain, with some sleet and snow. Icy roads likely. SEE ABOVE NARRATIVE.

 LOW: 31, steady

TUESDAY:

 Icy rain or mix early. Slippery roads. Areas of fog. Some late sunshine?

 HIGH: 37

 LOW: 27

FRIDAY:

 Mostly cloudy and mild. Rain Showers at night.

 HIGH: 41

 LOW: 33

MONDAY:

 Windy. Any early rain MIGHT become a bit of snow before ending.

 HIGH: 39, then dropping

You may see these labels in our forecast when appropriate:

A WEATHER AWARE DAY is a “heads up” when some inconvenient weather is expected or we’re tracking a potential major weather event days away. A SEVERE WEATHER ALERT means strong or severe weather is likely.

Click here to read more about this feature of StormCenter 2 and how viewers like you inspired them!</s>CLEVELAND - The forecast looks quiet with mostly cloudy skies and highs in the low 40s. Rain gets going tonight. Tuesday rainfall could exceed an inch or so. Hopefully, this won’t exacerbate the flooding situation too much. If you are in a flood-prone area, please stay up on the latest Fox 8 Forecast.

Click here for the Fox 8 weather page.

Here is a computer model rainfall forecast from now through Thursday morning:

Model guidance for temperatures suggest a bit of a “surge” Tuesday with highs well into the 50s:

We’re looking at 10-15 degrees above with highs in the 50’s for much of the week. Check out the 14-day anomaly trend-line on one of the computer models we look at:

Here is our latest FOX 8-Day Forecast:</s>Monday January 16, 2016

Weather forecast update at 5pm:

Good afternoon! Now that the Arctic air is retreating and a milder weather pattern is on deck, the switch to a southwesterly flow will drive in multiple weather systems into the Southern Interior this week.

Expect unsettled conditions with mixed precipitation over the next few days.

Although there is some uncertainty on the timing of the precipitation, we are expecting a good chance of flurries Monday overnight into Tuesday for many areas, especially the northern and eastern regions of the Southern Interior.

With freezing levels rising, we expect the snow to change to rain by midweek.

We will have the rest of your weather details coming up at 5pm, 6:30pm and 11pm – Hope you can join us!

~ Duane English / Wesla Wong</s>The Monday forecast looks quiet with mostly cloudy skies and highs in the low 40s. Rain assembles late today into tonight. Tuesday rainfall could exceed a half an inch or so. Hopefully, this won't exacerbate the flooding situation too much.

Here is a computer model rainfall forecast from now through Wednesday:

We’re looking at 10-15 degrees above with highs in the 50’s for much of the week. Check out the 14-day anomaly trend-line on one of the computer models we look at:

See the latest Fox 8 Day Forecast below.</s>Forty people have died so far as a result of the floods that have ravaged 12 southern provinces since Jan 1, and forecasters say more rain is on the way starting on Monday.

The Meteorological Department has forecast isolated heavy rain from Monday to Wednesday, especially for Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces.</s>KHOU 11 Meteorologist Brooks Garner is tracking a chance for heavy rain as we head into Tuesday morning
Flooding in southern Thailand has caused 40 deaths in recent days with more heavy rain forecast for Monday.