Heavy rain and flash flood warnings have been issued for the south of England

Stephen Dixon, a spokesman for the Met Office, warned: “Thunderstorms are likely across many parts of England this Tuesday.”

“It’s important to note within the warning area Thunderstorms can strike anywhere and other areas may not even see rain“, he added. A few thunderstorms in the Midlands will “continue slowly” and the storms will move “to southern parts of England during the day”, with the risk continuing through the night and part of Wednesday.

“Danger will persist in the southeast by Thursday morning and ease through the rest of the day,” Dixon said.

Showers and thunderstorms are an abrupt end to last week’s heat wave and a few weeks of light rain, with the south, central and east of England declared dry, followed by Yorkshire this Tuesday.

Officials warn that heavy rainfall in extremely dry land does not penetrate the dehydrated soil, creating a surface suitable for flash flooding.

Pictures posted on social media show heavy rain and flooded roads in Newquay, Cornwall and Tawton, Devon and Haywards Heath in West Sussex.

“I have never seen rain like this. Our road #Newquay is flooding,” wrote one Twitter user. Another referred to the use of sandbags to keep water out of his home and called for solutions in Devon.

Heavy rain also caused traffic problems on railways and roads in Scotland on Tuesday.

ScotRail has warned passengers that trains will run at reduced speeds due to the possibility of delays on some routes. In Perth, Network Rail said the station was flooded.

in Somerset, Authorities removed more than 50 tonnes of mud from the A358 due to the landslide The road will be open only on Monday and Tuesday afternoons.

On many beaches Bathers on England’s beaches have been warned about pollution from heavy rain and water from drains. The Surfers Against Sewage group has recorded outbursts on beaches in Cornwall, Devon, Sussex, Essex, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland and Cumbria.