A yellow thunderstorm warning is in force for parts of the East of England on Tuesday, with Cambridge among the areas that could be hit by heavy downpours, lightning and sudden flooding. The Met Office warning runs from 15:00 BST until 22:00.
The alert covers Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire, along with parts of Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk. Forecasters said as much as 3cm of rain, or 1.2in, could fall in less than an hour, raising the risk of surface water building up quickly on roads and in low-lying spots.
The warning matters most because it lands in the middle of the afternoon, when roads, trains and buses are busiest. The Met Office said there was a slight chance of power cuts, flooding, difficult driving conditions and delays, and added that some bus and train services could be cancelled. Spray and sudden flooding could make driving hazardous and may force some road closures.
For homes and businesses, the concern is not just wet weather but the speed at which it could turn disruptive. The Met Office said there was a small chance that properties could flood quickly, and that damage could come from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds. That is the point of a yellow warning: the storm may pass quickly, but the impact can linger long after the rain has moved on.
The warning began at 15:00 BST on Tuesday and was due to end at 22:00 BST. For Weather Cambridge, the immediate question is not whether rain will fall, but how hard it will come and how quickly it will make travel and drainage systems struggle in the affected parts of Cambridgeshire.
