THE Met Office has issued an urgent 12-hour warning for TODAY as thunderstorms and flash floods strike a swathe of the nation.
Four yellow storm and rain warnings are in force across Britain this afternoon.
AlamyThunderstorms are forecast for much of the UK[/caption]
A map of the areas covered by yellow warnings
Thunderstorm warnings will cover Wales, the south west and Northern Ireland until 9pm.
Another storm warning will be in place for East Anglia and the south east until midnight.
Around 40-50mm of rain could fall in a few places, forecasters said this lunchtime.
Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.
There could be delays and some cancellations to train and bus services.
Homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes or hail.
And there is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.
A yellow rain warning will also be in force for much of the Midlands, north Wales and northern England until Thursday morning.
Fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible in the warning zone, posing a danger to life.
A few upland areas could be drenched by a whopping 100-150 mm of rain.
Met Office expert Amy Botoka said: “The downpours could be slow moving, and that’s the main trouble.
“The wind’s quite light at the moment so when they do form, they could be quite slow moving and intense.”
“Where you see them they could be quite intense and dramatic, but not everywhere’s going to see them.
“Some places just down the road could be completely fine and shower and thunderstorm-free.”
Is your area affected?
Yellow thunderstorm warning until 9pm
Bath and North East Somerset
Bristol
Cornwall
Devon
Dorset
Gloucestershire
North Somerset
Plymouth
Somerset
South Gloucestershire
Torbay
Wiltshire
Blaenau Gwent
Bridgend
Caerphilly
Cardiff
Carmarthenshire
Ceredigion
Conwy
Denbighshire
Gwynedd
Merthyr Tydfil
Monmouthshire
Neath Port Talbot
Newport
Pembrokeshire
Powys
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Swansea
Torfaen
Vale of Glamorgan
Wrexham
Herefordshire
Shropshire
County Antrim
County Armagh
County Down
County Fermanagh
County Londonderry
County Tyrone
Yellow thunderstorm warning until midnight
Bedford
Cambridgeshire
Central Bedfordshire
Essex
Hertfordshire
Luton
Norfolk
Southend-on-Sea
Suffolk
Thurrock
Bracknell Forest
Brighton and Hove
Buckinghamshire
East Sussex
Greater London
Hampshire
Kent
Medway
Milton Keynes
Oxfordshire
Portsmouth
Reading
Slough
Southampton
Surrey
West Berkshire
West Sussex
Windsor and Maidenhead
Wokingham
Yellow rain warning until 6pm on Thursday
Derby
Derbyshire
Leicester
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Northamptonshire
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
Rutland
Bedford
Cambridgeshire
Central Bedfordshire
Norfolk
Peterborough
Milton Keynes
Darlington
Durham
Gateshead
Hartlepool
Middlesbrough
Newcastle upon Tyne
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Redcar and Cleveland
South Tyneside
Stockton-on-Tees
Sunderland
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackpool
Cheshire East
Cheshire West and Chester
Cumbria
Greater Manchester
Halton
Lancashire
Merseyside
Warrington
Ceredigion
Conwy
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Gwynedd
Isle of Anglesey
Powys
Wrexham
Shropshire
Staffordshire
Stoke-on-Trent
Telford and Wrekin
Warwickshire
West Midlands Conurbation
Worcestershire
East Riding of Yorkshire
Kingston upon Hull
North East Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
North Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
York
More to follow.
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