Thunder, lightning and ‘biblical’ levels of rain rocked London overnight, causing flash flooding across the city. Households woke up to deafening claps and bright strikes in the early hours as a storm moved over the skyline.<\/p>\n
The bizarre turn has flummoxed residnets, who have this week been preparing for clear skies and extreme temperatures reaching up to 39C or 40C. The Met Office has issued a rare red alert<\/a> for much of southern England and Wales on Wednesday and Thursday, warning of significant health risks and disruption to public transport.<\/a><\/p>\n Now, the extremely wet weather<\/a> has Londoners wondering just what else might happen over the next few days. Writer Adam Schwartz said he hasn’t seen anything like this morning’s storm in over three decades.<\/p>\n Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n Posting on X, he said “It\u2019s 3.45am in London and it\u2019s been thunderstorming for almost two straight hours. One of the biggest and longest storms I can remember in my almost 35 years in this city.”<\/p>\n Another onlooker wrote: “Was woken around 3:30am by the loudest clap of thunder I\u2019ve ever known. The lightning, rain and thunder were like something off a horror movie. That lightning must have hit something very close to me.”<\/p>\n A third added: “Massive thunderstorm in London sounded like an explosion and woke me up at 3AM. How is it raining heavily and it\u2019s still so damn HOT.”<\/p>\n Hours earlier, the Met Office warned 18 UK areas could see “frequent lightning, gusty winds, torrential rain” and even hail. This is in effect for London and the South East, South West England, and East of England until 9pm this evening.<\/p>\n Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n The weather authority said: “The storms will be moving quickly reducing the potential for widespread large amounts of rain, but there is a few places could see 20-25 mm of rainfall in a short period in the most active storms, which could bring some brief flooding.”<\/p>\n However, the torrential rain has caused damage to various stations and roads across the capital. Balham Tube station is currently shut due to flooding, Transport for London<\/a> (TfL) confirmed online this morning.<\/p>\n Elizabeth line trains and Trams are also not running<\/a> between Heathrow Terminals 2&3 and Heathrow and Terminal 4 and Sandilands and Elmers End\/Beckenham Junction, respectively. A-roads in Wallington, Twickenham and Childs Hill are also currently shut to traffic due to pools of water.<\/p>\n Footage shared on X shows water pouring over the platforms of Ruislip<\/a> station, with an onlooker describing it as a flash flood. He wrote: “This storm is something else. I had a job down at Ruislip earlier and this rain and lighting is insane.<\/p>\n “I\u2019ve not seen anything like this in years in London. I\u2019ve not seen flash flooding this bad in Ruislip in quite a few years.”<\/p>\n Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n Another social media user warned of difficult road conditions, stating: “The absolute FLOODS I’ve just driven through in North London. If you’re a nervous driver, avoid the roads this morning if you can. Didn’t know if my little VW was going to make it.”<\/p>\n Forecasters say the impending heatwave could see temperatures hit 38C to 40C, smashing the June record set in 1976 by several degrees. The hot conditions, which have been very rare in the UK until now, will be accompanied by high humidity and very warm nights.<\/p>\n The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also issued a red health warning for six regions of England \u2013 the West Midlands, East Midlands, South East, South West, London, and east of England \u2013 from 1am on Wednesday until 11pm on Thursday. This indicates \u201ca risk to life for even the healthy population\u201d as well as impacts beyond health and social care, with potential effects on transport systems, food, water, energy supplies and businesses.<\/p>\n It is the second red heat health warning to be issued, after the first in July 2022 when temperatures soared above 40C in the UK for the first time.<\/p>\n Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at the UKHSA, said: “It is vitally important that people understand the risk posed by high temperatures like these, and take steps to keep themselves and their friends, families and neighbours safe.”<\/p>\n People can also expect travel disruptions, including delays on roads and road closures as well as delays and cancellations to rail and air travel, the Met Office said.<\/p>\n Did you take a photo or video of the thunderstorm? Get in touch via rebecca.mcculloch@reachplc.com<\/a><\/p>\n