Thunderstorms keep Brits awake as torrential downpours turn roads into rivers

Brits were kept awake by the rumbles of thunder and bright lightning flashes overnight as the storm gathered momentum.

People took to social media to share videos of the ‘immense’ downpour, with one Londoner claiming she had never seen rain like that in the capital.

Exeter Airport was forced to temporarily close and cancel a number of flights last night.

Footage shared online showed the main terminal flooded after the ‘torrential’ rain.

An airport spokesperson said: ‘Following Sunday afternoon’s flash flooding, which caused the closure of the airport, our teams are working through the night cleaning up and we expect to be open tomorrow morning.

‘Passengers are advised to check with their airline for the very latest information about their flight, and please bear with us while we do our very best to return all airport operations to normal.’

The Met Office issued an amber weather warning for thunderstorms across parts of Devon and Somerset was in place on Sunday afternoon, with a yellow warning in other parts of south west England and South Wales.

A yellow warning issued for London, the south-east and east of England and the East Midlands expired at 6am today.

Heavy rain brought downpours across the south-west of England on Sunday, with localised flooding in Devon.

It also led to widespread road closures, bus and train cancellations and the closure of Paignton zoo.

Almost a month’s rain fell last night at the Birds Hill rain gauge on the edge of Exmoor.

Other spots saw up to 60mm of rain fall, more than half the September average for the region of 92.45mm.

Though the weather cleared by the early hours of this morning, conditions are expected to remain ‘blustery at times’ this week.

Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said more storms are possible as the remnants of Hurricane Lee, which hit New England in the US and eastern Canada, is set to move across the UK between Tuesday and Thursday.

But it will no longer be a hurricane by the time it reaches UK shores.

Mr Vautrey said: ‘That will be getting picked up by the jet stream. Showers in places could be heavy with a risk of further thunderstorms.

‘It could be quite an unsettled, autumnal week to come.’

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