FLOODY HELL UK
Weather chaos as floods cause havoc on the roads…and it’s not going to get better with THUNDERSTORM warnings tomorrow
WILD weather is wreaking havoc on Britain's roads as Storm Claudio takes hold.
Torrential rain and howling winds will continue to batter Britain - with thunderstorms set to cause chaos into tomorrow morning.
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Temperatures will plunge to as low as -2C after the French squall has already brought heavy downpours and flash flooding.
But the fierce conditions look set to continue throughout the night.
The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning across south-eastern England until the early hours of the morning.
Lightning strikes could damage homes and buildings and cause power cuts across the south east and London.
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Brits should brace for more travel chaos as the wild weather will bring disruption and delays to train services throughout the morning.
Spray and flooding on roads will increase journey times to work, with homes and businesses at risk of serious water damage.
But many areas of the UK are forecast for clear skies and brisk temperatures around 11C, with scattered showers in coastal areas of the northwest as well as around some Irish Sea coasts.
Scotland saw a separate alert for "very strong winds" of up to 70mph until 8am today, but things cleared up later in the day.
Most of the UK enjoyed autumnal weather and highs of 13C this afternoon after a soggy start that saw water-logged stations and streets throughout most of the country.
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Almost all Tube lines and several train networks were part-suspended or closed because of the conditions, with some roads also shut off by police.
Anyone using the Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Southeastern, South Western, Great Western, London Overground and Thameslink services was hit with severe delays due to flooding on the tracks.
Friday's wet and windy start could see a repeat of this morning where fallen trees blocked paths in parts of Sussex and planes struggled to land in Bristol.
And cars were badly damaged in Bedminster after scaffolding blew into the road in the early hours.
Kent County Council warned people to "be careful out there" after it had multiple reports of weather-related issues across its road network.
In some areas, like Buxted, near Uckfield in East Sussex, residents were urged to turn off their gas, water and electricity and move family and pets to safety upstairs.
The fire brigade in the capital was called out to more than 11 flooding incidents an hour between 5am and 9am today.
This included the rescue of a man and two children trapped in a car due to flood water in Harrow, North West London, and someone stranded in a submerged vehicle in Park Royal out west.
And a total of 35 flood alerts and five more severe warnings were issued across England, Scotland and Wales - leading into tomorrow morning's thunderstorm warning across the south.
'RELENTLESS' RAIN
The Met Office said the top rainfall totals recorded in the 12 hours from 9pm on Wednesday until 8am on Thursday were at Kew Gardens in West London where 1.7in fell, and Odiham in Hampshire where 1.6in fell.
The weather service said the average rainfall for the entire month of November in Greater London is 2.7in and in Hampshire is 4.1in.
Conditions cleared up slightly this afternoon, but "patchy frost" will arrive in central and northern areas tonight.
The mercury will hover in single figures, dropping as low as -2C in rural parts of Scotland.
On Friday, plenty of Brits will get some respite with "lengthy spells of sunshine", aside from the heavy thunderstorms across the south until 8AM.
And into the weekend, more rain will push through, lingering mostly in southeast England.
Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir said: "It's changeable over the next few days - wind, rain, showers interspersed with some sunshine and chilly mornings.
"Two areas of concern. Some severe gales across the north and west of Scotland, that's where we'll see the strongest winds and also some heavy rain.
"Also some rain which will become persistent and fairly relentless across the south east, so some surface water issues.
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"The wind will be incredibly strong. Severe gales as that rain gradually moves its way northwards.
"All change as we head into next week. Yes, it's still going to be windy with some showers, but there will be some higher temperatures and the nights won't be as cold."
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