Essex weather hour-by-hour forecast amid tornado warning

The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation has released a tornado warning covering Essex from 8am to 7pm today (Thursday, September 26).

Hazards accompanying the potential "isolated brief tornadoes" include hail, winds of up to 50mph and cloud-to-ground lightning.

The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation forecast map warning of potential isolated brief tornadoes (Image: The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation) This comes as the Met Office has issued a fresh 27-hour yellow weather warning for rain which covers Essex from 6am today until 9am tomorrow (Friday, September 27), updated from the previous warning from 5pm this evening until 10am tomorrow.

While these warnings are in place, here is the hour-by-hour forecast for south Essex:

Thursday, September 26

3pm - 80 per cent chance of heavy showers with sunny intervals, winds up to 31mph

4pm - 70 per cent chance of light showers with sunny intervals, winds up to 32mph

5pm - 70 per cent chance of light showers with sunny intervals, winds up to 30mph

6pm - 80 per cent chance of light showers with sunny intervals, winds up to 31mph

7pm - 80 per cent chance of light showers, winds up 32mph

8pm - 50 per cent chance of light showers, winds up to 30mph

9pm - 30 per cent chance of rain, winds up to 32mph

10pm - Cloudy, 20 per cent chance of rain, winds up to 31mph

11pm - Cloudy, winds up to 30mph

Friday, September 27

Midnight - Cloudy, winds up to 30mph

1am - Cloudy, winds up to 30mph

2am - 30 per cent chance of rain, winds up to 30mph

3am - Cloudy with a 30 per cent chance of rain, gusts of winds start going down to 29mph

4am - Overcast with a 50 per cent chance of rain

5am - 60 per cent chance of light rain

6am - 80 per cent chance of heavy rain

7am - 90 per cent chance of heavy rain

8am - 90 per cent chance of heavy rain

9am - 90 per cent chance of heavy rain, winds pick up again to 30mph

What is The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation?

The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO) is a UK organization which studies severe weather, including tornadoes, and issues forecasts and warnings when there is a risk of tornadoes or severe storms.

Of this forecast, a spokesman said: "A shortwave trough will move north east through today.

"Showers and isolated thunderstorms are already present around parts of south west and south England, and these will tend to move north east through this morning, with other showers and a few thunderstorms developing inland via diurnal heating.

"Deep layer shear is favourable for small clusters or lines of storms to form, and whilst low-level shear is reasonably modest, some backing of the flow ahead of the trough could assist in the development of low-level rotation, and perhaps a brief tornado or two.

"The most likely area of this to occur is across southern counties in the depicted area, but as models are keen to develop rather widespread showers through the day, the risk is drawn in a broader sense."