UK weather forecast: Thunderstorms to BATTER Britain on Christmas Eve causing travel chaos
BRITAIN will be lit-up by smouldering thunderstorms on Christmas Eve as the Met Office issues a yellow weather warning.
Met Office weather: UK set for thunderstorms and hail
Christmas Eve in the UK is set to be a lively one with the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning as thunderstorms are expected to surge across the UK. The weather warning in place is currently from 5am on Christmas Eve morning through until 1pm.
The storms will, the Met Office warns, bring travel chaos on both the roads and railways.
Rain, hail and lightning, in addition to powerful gusts of winds, will smash into the south and west of Wales, as well as parts of southwest England.
The Met Office has warned that people should expect some damage to a few buildings and structures from lighting strikes.
Driving conditions are also expected to be marred, with spray, standing water and hail leading to longer journey times by car and bus.
Train services will also possibly be disrupted.
Short term power loss and other services are likely to be affected, with repairs and maintenance reduced due to the harsh conditions and it being Christmas Eve.
This comes as millions of Britons are set to hit the roads to make it home in time for Christmas.
The RAC estimates that 2.5 million road trips will have begun from Monday leading up to Wednesday.
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It says “bumper to bumper” traffic will occur on motorways across the UK, as 6.2 million people prepare to get their holidays underway.
Ben Aldous of the RAC said: "It looks as though millions of drivers are planning to complete their Christmas getaway trips this week.
"Unfortunately, when you add in the prospect of unsettled weather, with heavy rain and strong winds in some parts, these are likely to be pretty unpleasant drives."
There is also the risk of severe floods in some parts of the UK.
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In all, 54 flood warnings are in place, with a further 136 flood alerts.
Most of the flood warnings will affect the south of England.
Dorset, Hampshire and Oxfordshire will be worst hit by the flooding.
This making for roads in those areas to be at times inaccessible.
However, it’s not just the roads that look set for chaos.
Railways including Great Northern, Gatwick Express, Thameslink and Southern Rail are all expected to be disrupted by the weather.
Severe delays may well play out on all of the above mentioned lines.
Met Office meteorologists revealed the extent to which rainfall has already fallen.
In the past 36 hours, the most amount of rain fell in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, with a staggering 31.66mm of rain.