Storms to batter the Midlands bringing risk of more flooding

Those off for half-term were told to beware of potential flash floods due to storms overnight.

The latest forecast came just days after torrential downpours brought a month's worth of rainfall in just hours on Sunday.

Tragedy struck when a man died after his van was submerged in water in Walsall following flash flooding.

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The Met Office issued an amber alert for Thursday afternoon and overnight covering parts of the Midlands.

Those areas were warned to experience torrential downpours, flooding and lots of lightning.

The Met Office also extended its yellow weather warning for rain to cover the whole of the West Midlands from now until 9am on Friday.

Forecasters said there was a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded or struck by lightning, causing damage to some buildings.

Where flooding does occur there was a chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus services.

Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures into Friday.

Temperatures were peaking at 23C (74F) on Thursday.

A Met Office spokeswoman said: "It's fairly normal weather for us to see thunderstorms through the summer months as temperatures warm up.

"Thunderstorms are caused by the warmer air."

She said most summer rain comes in short, sharp, heavy showers, adding that what is unusual is the longevity of this period - with the risk of thundery showers lasting into the weekend.

While some places will escape the worst of the rain, or even manage to stay largely dry, some rain will be heavy and up to 1.2in (30mm) was forecasted to fall in an hour or less and 1.6in-2in (40mm-50mm) was expected to fall in a couple of hours.