UK weather: Thunderstorms to sweep across country causing flooding, power outages and transport disruptions

Thunderstorms and heavy rains will sweep across the country this week, causing flooding, power outages and transport disruption, forecasters have warned.

The Met Office said that sudden flooding could hit businesses and homes and cause road closures and power cuts on Monday.

An amber warning for thunderstorms has been issued, stretching from Norwich in East Anglia to Brighton on the south coast, including London, Chelmsford and Canterbury.

The warning is in place from 4pm to 9pm on Monday.

"At the moment we have outbreaks of rain feeding up from the south through Wales and England," Met Office's Marco Petagna said.

The Met Office said that power cuts are "likely to occur" and said other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.

"Flooding of homes and businesses is likely and could happen quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds," it said.

A yellow weather warning for rain is also in place, covering central and southern parts of the UK from Brigg in North Lincolnshire to Weymouth in Dorset and Canterbury in the South East.

People in those areas have been warned of heavy rain and a chance of flooding and disruption.

This warning is in place from noon to midnight, and up to 25mm of rain is expected to fall across the area. Up to 60mm of rain could fall in isolated areas within the warning area, the Met Office said.

"We have an unsettled week with quite a lot of rain," said Mr Petagna.

"An amber warning has been put in place indicating the fact that there could be some torrential downpours this evening.

"There will also be an area of rain affecting Northern Ireland and Scotland."

Mr Petagna said that Tuesday will be "brighter after a grey start" but will still see "quite a few showers breaking out in southern England and Wales. "

Some of those could be quite heavy," he added.

"Wednesday will see more general rain sweeping across from the West while the rest of the week will be a mix of sunshine and showers."

He said that there will be a "blustery end to the week" with gusts hitting the country from Friday.

Parts of the UK have already seen more than half of their average monthly rainfall, the Met Office said.

Norfolk in East Anglia has been drenched, with 91 per cent of the county's monthly rain falling already.

In the South West, Wiltshire has also had a wet October, experiencing 89 per cent of its average monthly rainfall so far.

The UK as a whole has seen 55 per cent of its average monthly rainfall, which the Met Office say is not abnormal for this time of year.

The Environment Agency has also issued three flood warnings for the River Avon in the South West, near Bristol and Bath.

As of 1.45pm, the agency had 42 flood alerts in place across the South West, Midlands and parts of Yorkshire.

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