Met Office issues yellow weather warning as heavy rain set to hit New Forest and Christchurch on Sunday

A weather warning has been extended to Sunday, suggesting a very wet weekend for the New Forest and Christchurch

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain, which runs from midnight until 11.59pm on Sunday, as showers and thunderstorms are expected to merge into broader areas of heavy rain across parts of central and southern England.

This follows yellow alerts in place for today and tomorrow warning of thunderstorms.

The national weather agency adds some areas could see 30-50mm of rain in less than six hours, with a few places receiving 60-80mm over 12 to 24 hours.

South-west England will likely see heavy rain in the early hours of Sunday, breaking up into slow-moving, heavy and in places thundery downpours during the day.

Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some temporary road closures and “significant” delays or cancellations to train and bus services are possible.

The organisation is also warning that homes and businesses could flood, causing damage to some buildings and there is a small chance of power cuts and loss of other services.