Streets left underwater in East of England as 'megastorm' brings deluge of rain leaving cars stranded
22 September 2024, 23:36
Streets have been left underwater in towns in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire after six weeks of rainfall in 12 hours this afternoon bringing the summer to an end.
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Pictures on social media showed streets in Dunstable and Hitchin amid a deluge of downpours as cars and streets were left submerged.
Bedfordshire Police said it closed off part of the High Street due to "substantial flooding".
The A421 near Bedford was also closed westbound, between the A6 and Marston Moretaine, following the flooding.
Dunstable, Flitwick, Cranfield and Marston Moretaine were experiencing flooding, Central Bedfordshire Council said.
It came as a 200-mile-wide storm was set to cover much of the country for the whole day on Sunday, with 45 flood warnings and alerts in place. The yellow warning for rain remains in place until midnight on Monday.
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Up to three inches of rain was expected to fall in some parts of the country, according to forecasters on Sunday.
It comes after thunder and lightning, hail and rain struck various parts of the country on Saturday, including Luton, Bedfordshire, St Albans in Hertfordshire, and Cornwall, with heavy downpours in London, Wales and Birmingham.
The autumn equinox takes place on Sunday, which marks the end of summer and the start of autumn.
A weather warning for rain has come into force lasting all of Sunday for Wales and central south-west England, and another on Monday, stretching to cover areas further east and further north.
Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said: "With Sunday marking the autumnal equinox summer has now officially come to an end, and it ended with a bang for some of us.
"We've seen some very heavy showers and thunderstorms spreading their way in across southern areas of England, into parts of Wales as well during the course of today.
"This evening, those will continue to rumble their way on a bit, spreading again into parts of Midlands, Wales, then maybe just clipping the far south of Northern Ireland as well.
"Into the early hours of tomorrow morning we'll also see our next batch of thundery rain moving its way into southern areas of England as well."
He continued: "We do then have a rain warning in force throughout Sunday for this band of rain that's going to be moving across Wales, central southern areas of England.
"Some very heavy pulses are possible with some surface water issues, travel disruption, so it is worth taking care if you are out and about or travelling during the day."
