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THE Met Office has issued an urgent 12-hour warning for TODAY as thunderstorms and flash floods strike a swathe of the nation.

Four yellow storm and rain warnings are in force across Britain this afternoon.

Thunderstorms are forecast for much of the UK
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Thunderstorms are forecast for much of the UKCredit: Alamy
Walkers brave the rain on Wimbledon Common this afternoon
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Walkers brave the rain on Wimbledon Common this afternoonCredit: LNP
A map of the areas covered by yellow warnings
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A map of the areas covered by yellow warnings

Thunderstorm warnings will cover Wales, the south west and Northern Ireland until 9pm.

Another storm warning will be in place for East Anglia and the south east until midnight.

Around 40-50mm of rain could fall in a few places, forecasters said this lunchtime.

Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.

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There could be delays and some cancellations to train and bus services.

Homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes or hail.

And there is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.

A yellow rain warning will also be in force for much of the Midlands, north Wales and northern England until Thursday morning.

Fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible in the warning zone, posing a danger to life.

A few upland areas could be drenched by a whopping 100-150 mm of rain.

Met Office expert Amy Botoka said: "The downpours could be slow moving, and that's the main trouble.

"The wind's quite light at the moment so when they do form, they could be quite slow moving and intense."

"Where you see them they could be quite intense and dramatic, but not everywhere's going to see them.

"Some places just down the road could be completely fine and shower and thunderstorm-free.";

Is your area affected?

Yellow thunderstorm warning until 9pm

  • Bath and North East Somerset
  • Bristol
  • Cornwall
  • Devon
  • Dorset
  • Gloucestershire
  • North Somerset
  • Plymouth
  • Somerset
  • South Gloucestershire
  • Torbay
  • Wiltshire
  • Blaenau Gwent
  • Bridgend
  • Caerphilly
  • Cardiff
  • Carmarthenshire
  • Ceredigion
  • Conwy
  • Denbighshire
  • Gwynedd
  • Merthyr Tydfil
  • Monmouthshire
  • Neath Port Talbot
  • Newport
  • Pembrokeshire
  • Powys
  • Rhondda Cynon Taf
  • Swansea
  • Torfaen
  • Vale of Glamorgan
  • Wrexham
  • Herefordshire
  • Shropshire
  • County Antrim
  • County Armagh
  • County Down
  • County Fermanagh
  • County Londonderry
  • County Tyrone

Yellow thunderstorm warning until midnight

  • Bedford
  • Cambridgeshire
  • Central Bedfordshire
  • Essex
  • Hertfordshire
  • Luton
  • Norfolk
  • Southend-on-Sea
  • Suffolk
  • Thurrock
  • Bracknell Forest
  • Brighton and Hove
  • Buckinghamshire
  • East Sussex
  • Greater London
  • Hampshire
  • Kent
  • Medway
  • Milton Keynes
  • Oxfordshire
  • Portsmouth
  • Reading
  • Slough
  • Southampton
  • Surrey
  • West Berkshire
  • West Sussex
  • Windsor and Maidenhead
  • Wokingham

Yellow rain warning until 6pm on Thursday

  • Derby
  • Derbyshire
  • Leicester
  • Leicestershire
  • Lincolnshire
  • Northamptonshire
  • Nottingham
  • Nottinghamshire
  • Rutland
  • Bedford
  • Cambridgeshire
  • Central Bedfordshire
  • Norfolk
  • Peterborough
  • Milton Keynes
  • Darlington
  • Durham
  • Gateshead
  • Hartlepool
  • Middlesbrough
  • Newcastle upon Tyne
  • North Tyneside
  • Northumberland
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • South Tyneside
  • Stockton-on-Tees
  • Sunderland
  • Blackburn with Darwen
  • Blackpool
  • Cheshire East
  • Cheshire West and Chester
  • Cumbria
  • Greater Manchester
  • Halton
  • Lancashire
  • Merseyside
  • Warrington
  • Ceredigion
  • Conwy
  • Denbighshire
  • Flintshire
  • Gwynedd
  • Isle of Anglesey
  • Powys
  • Wrexham
  • Shropshire
  • Staffordshire
  • Stoke-on-Trent
  • Telford and Wrekin
  • Warwickshire
  • West Midlands Conurbation
  • Worcestershire
  • East Riding of Yorkshire
  • Kingston upon Hull
  • North East Lincolnshire
  • North Lincolnshire
  • North Yorkshire
  • South Yorkshire
  • West Yorkshire
  • York

More to follow.

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