伦敦 and southern England hit 由 torrential rains and floods

Southern England was hit by torrential downpours that resulted in significant flooding on Monday night.

The Met Office said the heavy and slow-moving thundery showers caused floods in parts of London. The London fire brigade said its 999 control officers received over 150 calls to flooding incidents in the capital.

Forecasters said the torrential showers were expected to continue through most of the evening.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for rain lasting until midnight, covering areas south of Peterborough. A yellow warning means that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings, fast-flowing or deep flood water is possible, delays or cancellations to train and bus services may occur, and that adverse driving conditions and power cuts can be expected.

Lighter showers are forecast for northern England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Environment Agency issued one flood alert for areas close to the upper River Loddon in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Highways England wrote on Twitter that on the M6 southbound from junction 32 to junction 31A, one lane had been closed due to flooding on the carriageway.

It comes after the Environment Agency South West said there was heavy, intense rainfall in Dorset today causing surface water flooding and advised people to avoid driving through flood water.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued flood warnings for areas north-west of Edinburgh.

Met Office forecaster Sarah Kent said southwestern parts of England could see 60mm of rain over only a few hours on Monday evening. “The most intense rainfall is going to be in southern and western areas of the UK,” she said. “Thundery downpours are coming from the English Channel as we speak.

“Certainly, with the intense rainfall we are expecting, localised flooding and probably some travel disruption are on the way, unfortunately just as people are doing the school run and coming home from work.”

Drier weather with temperatures of up to 24C are expected on Tuesday in central and southern England, with up to 18C in northern England and Scotland.

Wednesday is forecast to be warmer, with the mercury climbing to a maximum of 26C in the south and 24C in the north, the Met Office said.