South England flooding: Thunderstorms and torrential rain expected after yellow weather warnings

Yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms have been issued for the South of England, as forecasters predict two days of torrential downpours.

The Met Office has released the warning and advised that hail and lightning could hit a few places, with heavy rain posing a risk of localised flooding.

Torrential rain

The yellow weather alert has been issued for parts of southern England from tomorrow (18 June) until Wednesday (19 June).

Thunderstorms could potentially take place during Tuesday evening, developing more widely across the southern region overnight.

Around 15 to 30 mm of rain is expected to fall widely, causing potential localised flooding

The storms may later merge into areas of more prolonged and widespread rain on Tuesday night, with around 15 to 30 mm of rain expected to fall widely, and up to 50 mm in a few locations.

The early hours of Wednesday will see a drier interlude, before further thunderstorms may develop in a few places during Wednesday afternoon. Rain and flooding are likely to pose the largest impact, while hail, lightning and gusty winds will be additional hazards.

Hazardous conditions

The Met Office said, "Thunderstorms may develop bringing torrential rain, hail and lightning to a few places, with potential disruption to travel and flooding.

"There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.

"Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services.

"Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.

"There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost."

The Met Office has warned the following regions and local authorities in southern and eastern England will be affected by thunderstorms and torrential rain, and may see some localised flooding:

East of England

Bedford Cambridgeshire Central Bedfordshire Essex Hertfordshire Luton Norfolk Peterborough Southend-on-Sea Suffolk Thurrock

London and South East England

Bracknell Forest Brighton and Hove Buckinghamshire East Sussex Greater London Hampshire Isle of Wight Kent Medway Milton Keynes Oxfordshire Portsmouth Reading Slough Southampton Surrey West Berkshire West Sussex Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham

South West England

Bath and North East Somerset Bournemouth Dorset Gloucestershire Poole Somerset South Gloucestershire Swindon Wiltshire