Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Lingering showers and thunderstorms could hit parts of the UK

It comes as London mayor Sadiq Khan warned that ‘parts of London are still flooded or at risk of flooding’.

PA Reporter
Wednesday 17 August 2022 19:21 EDT
(Victoria Jones/PA)
(Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Met Office has a yellow thunderstorm warning in place across parts of Kent and Medway, in south east England, on Thursday morning.

It comes as London mayor Sadiq Khan warned that “parts of London are still flooded or at risk of flooding”, following sudden downpours on Wednesday.

The Environment Agency issued 17 alerts, covering London and parts of the south, stating that “flooding is possible”.

The Met Office warning said there was a small chance of showers continuing to form over the north Kent coast and feed inland overnight into Thursday.

It said: “Where these do occur 30mm of rain is possible in an hour and 40-50 mm in a few hours with the small chance of some disruption.

“Lightning and hail may also be additional hazards.

“The greatest likelihood however is that the showers will remain mostly offshore with limited rainfall inland.”

Possible disruption could include difficult driving conditions and some road closures due to spray and standing water.

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

The Met Office said Thursday would be damp in  Northern Ireland and western Scotland as rain pushes eastwards, rather cloudy across southeast England and brighter for parts of Wales and central England.

It follows a day where storms brought sudden downpours which flooded some of London’s transport stations and streets, and brought  England’s Test match at Lord’s cricket ground against South Africa to an early close.

Some shops and platforms at central London’s busy Victoria Station were forced to close for a period after flooding at the main entrance left large volumes of water running down a  slope leading towards the eastern concourse.

The Almeida theatre in Islington, north London,  also had to cancel a matinee performance as water leaked through the roof.

Footage from the venue, posted on social media, showed audience members evacuating after the opening hour of Peter Morgan’s new play Patriots.

Gatwick Airport also warned of delays and cancellations to some flights as air traffic control restrictions were imposed across the south of England and parts of Europe due to poor weather conditions.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in