AN Amber Warning of severe thunderstorms that could cause flooding and disruption to Teignbridge has been issued by the Met Office.

The earlier Yellow Warning has been upgraded for the whole of Devon as rainfall across Wales and the West Midlands in particular remains intense and so the warning has been extended until midnight.

A Met Office spokesperson warned: ‘Further severe thunderstorms will affect parts of England and Wales on Wednesday evening.

‘Some places will miss these, but where they occur they will be intense.

‘Rainfall totals of 30-40 mm may fall in as little as 20 minutes, with a chance of 60mm falling in an hour and 70-100 mm falling in 2-3 hours.

‘Large hail, frequent lightning and gusty winds will be additional hazards.

‘Most thunderstorms will die out during later in the evening though a few may continue in to the night.’

What to expect

There is a chance that fast flowing/deep water could suddenly occur, bringing a danger to life and extensive flooding of homes and businesses

Damage to buildings/structures from lightning strikes, hail, strong winds may occur

If flooding occurs, road closures with long delays and cancellations to bus and rail services are possible

Rapidly changing, dangerous driving conditions from spray, sudden flooding, standing water and/or hail might occur

Power and other essential services, such as gas, water, mobile phone service could be lost

Communities might be completely cut off, perhaps for several days

If flooding occurs, road closures, with long delays and cancellations to bus and rail services are possible