orrential rain and thunderstorms struck parts of the UK overnight – with some areas seeing 1,000 lightning strikes in the space of an hour.
The unsettled weather left roads flooded and homes without power in the South East of England, with parts of Kent seeing 42mm of rain in just 60 minutes.
A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms remains in place for most of the South East until 9pm on Wednesday – with forecasters warning that further rain, hail and lightning could bring further disruption.
Images and video on social media captured spectacular lightning in the skies over the region, with Kent Police’s Roads Policing Unit tweeting that the lightning was “very active”.
Meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “We’ve had some heavy, thundery showers overnight. There has been some flooding near Eastbourne and some power cuts.
“We are going to see some further heavy showers heading towards Kent, and southeastern parts of the UK will see some heavy thunderstorms through the morning, while isolated ones could develop this afternoon.”
Enough water to fill 225 Olympic-sized swimming pools has been pumped out to sea following last week’s severe flooding in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire.
Despite falling within the Met Office’s warning area, forecasters say the town will likely escape the worst of Wednesday’s weather.
“A few showers are possible there, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to bear the brunt of the heavy downpours,” Mr Burkill added.
Following the recent flooding, around 350 tonnes of sand and ballast were dropped in the area by RAF Chinook helicopters over the weekend.
Lincolnshire Police said on Tuesday that almost 600 homes remained evacuated as the clean-up operation continued.
Other parts of the country will enjoy a brighter day on Wednesday, with sunshine expected in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The rest of England and Wales could see a damp start before things brighten up later on.
Temperatures will be mild, peaking at 19C (66.2F) in some parts of the country, though it will be cloudy and possibly thundery in most of England.
By the weekend, temperatures are expected to rise to as high as 23C (73F), bringing some respite from the recent downpours.
Source : Sky News : http://news.sky.com/story/uk-weather-thunder-and-torrential-rain-strike-uk-with-more-heavy-downpours-today-11744571