This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Thunderstorms and rain are expected across parts of the UK as the unsettled weather continues. About 1,000 lightning strikes hit Eastbourne in East Sussex overnight and a yellow weather warning remains in place for the east of England – covering Yorkshire, East Anglia and the south coast – with forecasters warning of the likelihood of more rain, hail and lightning.

Homes were left without power and roads flooded in parts of southern England after an overnight deluge.

In Lenham, a village between Maidstone and Ashford in Kent, the Met Office reported 42mm of rain falling between 11pm and midnight on Tuesday.

Images and videos shared on social media showed spectacular lightning strikes across the region.

One Twitter user said she had “never seen anything like it”, while another who was caught in the storm described it as “amazing”.

The Met Office said there was a chance of delays and cancellations with train and bus services, and warned that power cuts could cause further disruption. It said there was a small chance homes and businesses could be flooded.

“We’ve had some heavy, thundery, showers overnight,” said Alex Burkill, a Met Office meteorologist. “There has been some flooding near Eastbourne and some power cuts. We are going to see some further heavy showers heading towards Kent, and south-east parts of the UK will see some heavy thunderstorms through the morning, while isolated ones could develop this afternoon.”

Wainfleet, in Lincolnshire, where 600 homes have been evacuated due to flooding, is likely to escape the worst of Wednesday’s storms. “A few showers are possible there, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to bear the brunt of the heavy downpours,” Burkill said.

The town received double the average monthly rainfall in just three days last week, causing the River Steeping to burst its banks.

Enough water to fill 225 Olympic-sized swimming pools has been pumped out to sea in relief efforts, while three RAF helicopters have dropped 270 one-tonne sandbags to repair the river bank.

Last week’s downpours also submerged the majority of the rail line from Kent to London, and two sinkholes forced the closure of parts of the M25 roadway.

Milder weather is expected in some parts of the country, although thunder is a possibility throughout most of England on Wednesday.

Temperatures are expected to rise to 23C (73F) at the weekend, providing some respite after a washout fortnight that has put June on track to be the coldest in 28 years.