UK weather: One month's worth of rain to flood Britain amid 'danger to life' amber warning

Brits are set to be battered by wind and showers with as much as a month’s worth of rain falling in one day.

The Met Office has urged Brits to stay safe and avoid travelling by road as up to 60mm worth of torrential rainfall will cause flooding in several areas, affecting communities already recovering from recent deluges. Rivers will also continue to rise after the rain clears, it added with transport disruption this evening and overnight is to be expected amid the washout where as much as a month's rain could fall in a day.

A rare amber “danger to life” weather warning is in place for rain in central England which runs until 6am. Slow moving showers and thunderstorms today will soon intensify through the afternoon into the late evening, merging into "a large band of heavy rain" - with central and eastern parts of the warning area bearing the brunt of the storm, the Met Office said.

It added: "Some places, especially across central and eastern parts of the warning area, are likely to receive 30-40mm in three hours or less, and perhaps 50-60mm or more in around six hours. This rain will fall onto already saturated ground and affect communities recovering from recent flooding. Travel disruption and further flooding is likely, with rivers continuing to rise after the rain clears."

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There are yellow warnings for rain that cover the south, central parts of England and the north east which run until midnight. And then tomorrow a yellow warning from 6am until 9am convers central and southern England.

An urgent tornado warning has also threatened to bring 50mph winds, hailstones and thunderstorms to a large area of southeast England and East Anglia. Forecasting agency Torro warned: "Showers and isolated thunderstorms are already present around parts of SW and S England, and these will tend to move NE 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. Gusty winds and lightning will affect some places, along with hail."

As part of its amber weather warning, The Met Office urged Brits to "keep yourself and others safe, prepare to avoid travelling by road during potentially dangerous road conditions", adding "if you must travel, ensure you watch for possible danger and drive cautiously".

What should I expect from amber warning?

• Spray and flooding probably leading to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
• Homes and businesses are likely to be flooded, causing damage to some buildings
• A good chance some communities will be cut off by flooded roads
• Delays and some cancellations to train and bus services are likely
• Power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses likely