UK weather: Heavy rain to batter Brits this weekend as yellow warnings issued

A yellow weather warning has just been issued for heavy rain across vast swathes of eastern England on Sunday.

The band of rain and heavy, thundery showers will slowly drift east through Sunday, the Met Office has confirmed.

A spokesman said 30 to 40 mm of rain could fall in a relatively short time leading to surface water flooding and transport disruption.

The experts say there is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings and where flooding occurs, there is a slight chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus services.

Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures and there is a slight chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses in the affected areas.

The warning is in place from noon Sunday until midnight.

The weather warning was issued by the Met Office (Met Office)

The weather warning follows a brighter day on Saturday, with some warm sunshine developing, particularly across southeastern parts of England.

Band of patchy rain across eastern Scotland to southwest England, giving way to scattered showers, possibly heavy later, the Met Office said.

People shelter from the rain under umbrellas near St Paul's Cathedral, London (PA)

Regions and local authorities affected

East Midlands

• Derby
• Derbyshire
• Leicester
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Northamptonshire
• Nottingham
• Nottinghamshire
• Rutland

East of England

• Bedford
• Cambridgeshire
• Central Bedfordshire
• Essex
• Hertfordshire
• Luton
• Norfolk
• Peterborough
• Southend-on-Sea
• Suffolk
• Thurrock

London & South East England

• Bracknell Forest
• Brighton and Hove
• Buckinghamshire
• East Sussex
• Greater London
• Hampshire
• Kent
• Medway
• Milton Keynes
• Oxfordshire
• Portsmouth
• Reading
• Slough
• Southampton
• Surrey
• West Berkshire
• West Sussex
• Windsor and Maidenhead
• Wokingham

North East England

• Darlington
• Durham
• Gateshead
• Hartlepool
• Middlesbrough
• Newcastle upon Tyne
• North Tyneside
• Northumberland
• Redcar and Cleveland
• South Tyneside
• Stockton-on-Tees
• Sunderland

North West England

• Cumbria

South West England

• Gloucestershire
• Swindon
• Wiltshire

West Midlands

• Staffordshire
• Warwickshire
• West Midlands Conurbation
• Worcestershire

Yorkshire & Humber

• East Riding of Yorkshire
• Kingston upon Hull
• North East Lincolnshire
• North Lincolnshire
• North Yorkshire
• South Yorkshire
• West Yorkshire
• York