UK weather: Torrential rain hits the UK with some train stations forced to close due to flooding
A yellow thunderstorm warning remains in place for London and the south east, the east of England and the east midlands until 3pm - with forecasters predicting "intense downpours".
Thursday 25 August 2022 13:48, UK
Torrential downpours have hit the UK, bringing an end to a spell of dry weather, with some train stations forced to close due to flooding.
Andrewsfield in Essex reported 1.43 inches (36.4mm) of rain this morning as storms sweep across the east and south-east of England.
A yellow thunderstorm warning remains in place for London and the south east, the east of England and the east midlands until 3pm.
Forecasters have said flooding is likely and predicted "intense downpours".
In east London, Dagenham Heathway station was closed this morning due to flooding caused by heavy rain, while a number of exits were closed at Charing Cross station in central London.
Earlier in the day, "heavy rain flooding the railway at Northfleet" caused disruption to services running through the station, with trains not stopping. Service has since resumed.
Other train delays and a potential loss of power are also likely.
Revellers were seen braving the rain and the mud as they arrived at Reading ahead of this weekend's festival.
The Environment Agency has issued nine alerts for areas where "flooding is possible", including in the south London boroughs of Merton, Sutton, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Wandsworth, Lewisham, Bromley, Greenwich and Croydon.
The wetter weather comes after drought was declared across swathes of England, with parched grass and struggling crops seen alongside dried-up streams and rivers.
As reservoir and aquifer levels remain low, hosepipe bans were brought in for millions of people.
As of Wednesday, the UK has had only 46% of the average total rainfall for August.
Bank holiday expected to be dry
The bank holiday is expected to be largely dry with warm sunny spells, though possibly wetter in the north west.
Temperatures could climb to 30C or into the mid-20s depending on how the high pressure builds, the Met Office said.
Spokesman Grahame Madge said: "We've definitely switched from the hot and dry regime to something that has rain in the forecast."
While the downpours will mean this month will "catch up a bit" with rainfall totals, he said: "It's certainly going to be a dry August for the whole of the UK."
"We've had below average rainfall for such a long time, it's going to take a period of above average rain to make it up," he warned.
Whether that period of above-average rainfall is looming remains to be seen, with the Met Office set to bring out its seasonal forecast for the likely conditions over the next few months next week.
It is possible for the weather to turn around: the severely dry summer of 1976 was followed by rain which meant that rainfall levels had caught up with the average by the end of autumn.
But scientists warn that climate change is making weather extremes more likely, increasing heatwaves, droughts and heavy rain events that can lead to flash floods.