A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms are in force across nearly all of south London for the rest of the day as the summer washout continues.

The Met Office has warned that heavy showers and thunderstorms may cause flooding and travel disruption, and meteorologists warn there's a small chance homes and businesses could flood.

A formal yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued, running from 12pm today (August 9) until 9pm tonight.

It covers the entire of the south west of England excluding Cornwall and the south coast, and whilst London also comes under the Met Office's warning zone, the line cuts off just before Orpington and Dartford.

Surrey Comet: The Met Office's weather warning for August 9The Met Office's weather warning for August 9

South west London falls under the warning in it's entirety, along with Greenwich and Lewisham, whilst Bromley and Bexley have a reduced risk of thunder

South London has hit by a summer washout so far in 2021, with regular thunderstorms and heavy rain as recent as the weekend causing flash flooding.

Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell told the PA news agency: “It’s going to stay quite changeable at least for the next week but as we head towards the end of August, there’s a likelihood we’ll see hotter spell of weather and drier more settled weather across the whole of the UK.”

She explained that the only exception has been the south east of England, which has been wetter than usual and has already had 111% of its average rainfall for the summer.

Ms Mitchell added the cause of the torrential rain and thunderstorms is down to the fact that July was so hot.

Surrey Comet: Flooding PAFlooding PA

“There has been a lot of rainfall in a short amount of time, creating localised flooding events rather than it being a wet period.”

She said: “It’s not been wetter on average but we’ve seen a lot of reports on the news about the flooding. That’s why it may feel like a bad summer, with not much warmth or sunshine.”

The worst-hit places appear to be the City of London, which has had 143% of its average rainfall this summer, the Isle of Wight with 174% of its average summer rainfall, and Surrey with 126%.

Announcing the weather warning, Met Office have cautioned that while many places will stay dry, heavy showers and thunderstorms may cause flooding and travel disruption in a few places.

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.

Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures, and there is a small chance that some communities become cut off by flooded roads.

Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services

There is also a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.

Currently, the weather forecast for south London predicts a 60% of rain from 2pm today until 6pm.

But in between the showers the temperatures will stay warm, averaging 19C until 8pm.

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