Megastorm flood warning as UK to be hit by six weeks' worth of rain in 12 hours

Brits will be hit by a megastorm on Sunday with almost an entire summer's worth of rain set to pour down in just 12 hours.

Weather maps have turned blue as a 200-mile long deluge hovers over the UK. It follows warnings from the Met Office issued on Thursday for three days of storms and heavy rain for across the South West, Wales and the Midlands, which continues into Monday.

Forecasters say the onslaught, which could see up to three inches of rain fall in parts, marks the end of a spell of bright, warm weather last week - and officially punctuates the end of the summer with this weekend marking the autumn equinox. 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.

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"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." Parts of the South and Wales saw thunder and lightning on Friday, while some areas of the UK also saw freak storm conditions including hailstones and even tornadoes.

More than 900 homes in North Staffordshire lost power amidst the stormy conditions. Nick Finnis from Netweather said: "All good things come to an end. After a summery run across the UK, it's turning a lot wetter."

Flooding warnings have also been issued by the Environment Agency on Sunday ahead of the projected downpour. Some 45 warnings and alerts have been issued.

Sunday's forecast from the Met Office said: "Showers and thunderstorms are expected to merge into broader areas of heavy rain across parts of Wales, central and southern England during Sunday."