Storm Claudia to bring 'heavy and disruptive' rain to London today - full forecast

Hard luck, Londoners, it isn’t the snowy start to the festive season we were hoping for - in fact, it’s a bit of a washout.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain across the capital today, with “prolonged and heavy downpours” expected to continue into tomorrow (Saturday 15th November).

The warning has since been upgraded to a named storm. Storm Claudia (very Traitors chic) is expected to bring heavy rain on Friday into early Saturday, which may lead to some flooding and disruption.

According to the Met Office’s hour-by-hour forecast, there will be a brief reprieve from the rain between 3-5pm. Scattered but heavy showers are expected to continue throughout the remainder of the day but the worst of the rain should be over by about 8pm in London.

The Met Office has said some areas of the UK could get “a month’s worth of rain” in just 24 hours.

Storm Claudia arrives just as the festive season kicks off in London with the opening of several significant events, including Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland and Christmas at Kew, which are both due to open tonight.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: “Storm Claudia will bring very heavy rainfall to a large swathe of central and southern England and Wales on Friday into Saturday. This rain will become slow moving, and some areas could see up to a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.

“Much of this will fall on saturated ground, increasing the chances of flooding and contributing to the Amber warnings we have issued. Within the Amber warning areas, some could see in excess of 150mm accumulate during the event, with 60-80mm fairly widely.

“Gusty winds in the northwest of England and northwest Wales is an additional hazard, with 60-70mph gusts possible in exposed places within the warning area.”

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