A yellow weather warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms has been issued by the Met Office that is set to impact Southend.

The weather warning is set to last 12 hours from 12pm today (Tuesday, May 21) until around midnight.

It is impacting large swathes of the South East of England, including the whole of Essex, London, Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent and Sussex.

In a statement, the Met Office said: "Heavy rain and thunderstorms may lead to some disruption."

Southend hour-by-hour forecast for thunderstorms warning

The full Southend Met Office page can be found on the website here.

  • 12pm - 14C, heavy rain (80% chance of precipitation)
  • 1pm - 14C, cloudy
  • 2pm - 15C, cloudy
  • 3pm - 14C, heavy rain (80% chance of precipitation)
  • 4pm - 14C, heavy rain (80% chance of precipitation)
  • 5pm - 14C, light rain (50% chance of precipitation)
  • 6pm - 15C, light rain (50% chance of precipitation)
  • 7pm - 15C, overcast
  • 8pm - 14C, overcast
  • 9pm - 14C, cloudy
  • 10pm - 14C, overcast
  • 11pm - 14C, cloudy
  • 12am - 14C, heavy rain (70% chance of precipitation)

What to expect with a yellow weather warning

In terms of what to expect with the current yellow warning, the Met Office says there could be:

  • Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
  • Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services
  • There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost
  • There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds

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In a statement, the forecaster added: "Whilst some places may remain mostly dry, areas of heavy rain and some thunderstorms are expected to develop from around mid-morning.

"In the south of this warning area, the focus is likely to be slow-moving heavy showers and thunderstorms, perhaps with hail and lightning, which should gradually ease away later on Tuesday evening."

They went on: "Across the warning area, 20-30mm in 1 hour or less is possible (but perhaps most likely to the south of London), with a few places perhaps receiving 40-50mm in 2-3 hours."