UK weather: Torrential downpours in South East and London as Storm Aurore moves in from France

Southern parts of England suffered torrential downpours overnight after a storm moved in from France.

An amber warning was in force across the South East and London until the early hours of Thursday morning, with the Met Office warning of "very heavy rain".

Forecasters said the wet conditions could also cause transport disruption, difficult driving conditions, power cuts, and floods in some homes and businesses.

UK weather: The latest Sky News forecast

A yellow rain warning covering a larger part of southern England overnight expired at 3am on Thursday.

Wet and windy weather is likely to bring "some disruption" to the region, forecasters said.

Met Office forecaster Becky Mitchell told the PA news agency that some areas were facing 15mm to 25mm of rainfall - but some places potentially saw 30mm or higher along with rumblings of thunder.

She warned that strong winds - typically about 45mph on the coasts but increasing to 70mph - could also cause disruption to commuters, with the thunder increasing the risk of power cuts.

The rainy weather is expected clear on Thursday across southern England but there could be some more showers in the north and west.

It will be much brighter but colder than of late on Thursday in parts of the UK.

Looking ahead to the weekend, a cold start and scattered showers are expected on Friday.

Rain, stronger winds and milder weather is going to spread from the northwest on Saturday.