LONDON: There are more thunderstorms on the way after Britain was battered with almost a month's worth of rain in a day.
The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for thunderstorms and rain in England and Scotland for the next four days possibly causing more flooding and transport disruption.
The new warnings come as homes, roads and Tube stations were flooded in the south of England, with a flooded hospital cancelling all surgery and outpatient appointments on Monday due to the heavy rain.
The basement at Whipps Cross Hospital in east London was flooded, causing damage to the electrical system and a loss of power.
A major incident was called across Barts Health NHS Trust, with staff moving around 100 inpatients from affected wards, including to other hospitals within the Barts Health group.
Ambulances are currently being diverted to other hospital emergency departments to relieve the pressure on Whipps Cross.
The emergency department at the hospital remains open for walk-ins but patients requiring urgent treatment are asked to attend alternative hospitals where possible.
Newham Hospital is now fully operational after also being affected by flooding.
A spokesperson for Barts Health NHS Trust said: "We are continuing to experience operational issues at Whipps Cross Hospital due to the heavy rainfall yesterday.
"We cancelled all planned surgery and outpatient appointments for today, and are diverting ambulances while we work hard to clean up affected areas of the hospital. "We are keeping the situation under constant review and will post updates about services as necessary.
"Meanwhile, we cleaned all areas affected by the flooding at Newham Hospital yesterday and its emergency department is now open to people needing emergency care.
"We are working closely with other hospitals across the Barts Health group to maintain patient care and asking the public to check the latest visiting arrangements for each hospital on our website before coming to any site."
The average rainfall for July in London is 45mm, so almost a month's worth of rain fell in one 24-hour period.
The daily rainfall value of 41.8mm recorded at St James's park is that weather station's second-wettest July day on record.
A yellow thunderstorm warning is in place for parts of Kent and Sussex between 10 am and 5 pm on Monday while another yellow storm warning has been issued for much of the Midlands and northern England between 9 am on Tuesday and 6am on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a yellow thunderstorm warning is in place for most of Scotland for 12 hours from noon on Tuesday, while yellow rain warnings also follow for all of Wednesday and the early hours of Thursday morning.
The Met Office said thunderstorms occur when there is warm air on the surface that is underneath cooler air above it.
The warm air rises and creates instability which can create quite heavy downpours of rain and hail, as well as creating the conditions for thunder and lightning.
A Met Office spokesperson said: "Going forward, there's some more thunderstorms and intense downpours in the forecast, with a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms currently active until 5 pm today in the far South East.
"The current dominant weather pattern of the UK is set to be a spell of low pressure, bringing with it some more persistent rain from Tuesday and into Wednesday, with some slow moving heavy rain expected over Scotland on Wednesday in particular."
The spokesperson said an official study would have to be completed before any connections to the weekend's weather can be linked to climate change, but added that the science indicates that warmer air can hold more water, so rainfall is increasing on average across the world.
"In some places, rainfall is becoming more intense as well. Heavy rainfall is also more likely. "Since 1998, the UK has seen seven of the 10 wettest years on record. The winter storms in 2015 were at least 40 per cent more likely because of climate change," he said.
Greenpeace UK's policy director, Doug Parr, said: "Despite decades of warnings, it seems as if there is a reluctance from governments to act decisively on climate change until the flood waters are lapping at your toes.
"Extreme weather of the kind being experienced across the world this summer will only increase in the UK, in both frequency and intensity, unless action is taken to curb emissions.
"With the UK hosting this autumn's crucial climate talks, Boris Johnson must grab the bull by the horns and set an example for others to follow.
"He must bring in ambitious policies that match his rhetoric and actually deliver the emissions cuts that we so desperately need to stop global temperatures from spiralling out of control." The Environment Agency has one flood warning in place for Whitwell, Wroxall, Langbridge, Alverstone on the Eastern Yar in the south, as well as 10 flood alerts around England. - dpa
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