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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Jacob Phillips

London weather: Met Office issues fresh yellow rain warning for capital

The Met Office has issued a fresh weather warning covering south London, with heavy rain set to cause travel disruption on Thursday.

The forecaster has issued a yellow warning for rain until 4pm, covering part of the capital as well as Brighton and Portsmouth.

Some homes and businesses could be flooded and train journeys may take longer, the weather agency said.

It comes after the Met Office issued twin rain and wind warnings on Wednesday ahead of the stormy weather hitting the capital.

A yellow warning for rain covers the East Midlands, East of England, London and south-east England, the South West and West Midlands until 6pm.

The Met Office said: "Rain will be heavy at times and perhaps become more prolonged to give 3-6 hours of rain.

"Most places within the warning area will see 10-15mm of rainfall but a few places could see 30-40mm with this falling onto already saturated ground.

"Lightning and gusty winds are likely to be additional hazards, with a small chance of gusts around 50mph in a few places."

The Met Office warned there is a slight chance of power cuts and a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded.

Trains and buses could be cancelled and flooding could create difficult driving conditions.

A yellow wind warning is also be in place in London until 6pm on Thursday, with the Met Office predicting winds up to 40mph.

The forecaster also warned there could be some damage to buildings such as tiles being blown from roofs.

The East of England, London, the South East and South West are the regions which have been urged to brace for "a small chance of disruption from strong winds".

The wind warning also states: "There is a small chance of a broader swathe of very strong winds affecting southern and eastern England with gusts of 60 to 70mph, mostly likely close to English Channel and southern North Sea coasts."

Much of southern, central and eastern England is covered by a rain or wind warning meaning that "after what has been a wet February so far, further rain is on the way on Thursday, accompanied by some gusty winds", according to Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen.

The Environment Agency (EA) has issued 39 flood warnings - when flooding is expected - and 203 flood alerts in England, while National Resources Wales issued three flood warnings and 28 flood alerts.

A band of rain that is expected to move east across England during Thursday, before clearing in eastern England by early evening, means some regions should brace for possible flooding and disruption.

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