Flood alerts and yellow weather warnings remain active as thunderstorms continue sweeping across parts of the UK.
Seven Environment Agency flood alerts cover riverside areas in Devon and Haywards Heath in West Sussex.
A yellow Met Office warning for thunderstorms was activated at 11am on Wednesday in the east, south-west and south-east of England, including London, and it will run until 8pm.
It also spans the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire and parts of Wales. Meanwhile a yellow warning for rain is in place from 12pm to 9pm in north-east Scotland.
The rain warning zone expects around 30mm of rainfall, whilst coastal locations could receive up to 80mm, according to the Met Office. Wind gusts reaching 45mph had already been recorded by Wednesday afternoon.
Ellie Glasyer, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “If everything comes together and you see the right shower in the right place, you could see half a month’s rainfall within a couple of hours.
“With the nature of a thunderstorm warning, and the nature of showers, not everywhere will see that much rainfall – some people might obviously not see any rainfall within that warning area.
“But there is a chance that there could be some heavy downpours, and some hail and thunder mixed in with those showers, as well as some strong gusty winds and some lightning.”
Dane Broomfield, from the EA, said: “Persistent heavy rain and thundery showers mean minor surface water flooding is probable across parts of England today, with significant impacts possible but not expected on Thursday.
“Environment Agency teams will be out on the ground and supporting local authorities in responding to surface water flooding.”
He added: “We urge people not to drive though flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
