Storms batter South Coast with more rain to come » Environment » 24dash.com

The South Coast was battered by heavy rain and gale force winds of around 70mph today.

Motorists were warned to take extra care on the roads as a cold front crossed the South of England from Devon to London this morning.

MeteoGroup UK said the band of bad weather was heading east across Essex, Kent and Sussex this afternoon, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.

Wind speeds of up to 77mph were recorded at the exposed Needles on the Isle of Wight and up to 61mph on Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire today.

Thorney Island in West Sussex recorded 15mm (0.6in) of rain, while in Plymouth, Devon, 18mm (0.7in) fell between 6am and noon.

At RAF Northolt almost 7mm (0.3in) of rain fell between noon and 1pm.

Paul Knightley, MeteoGroup UK meteorologist, said: "The rain falling in quite a short period of time is not quite flash flooding but will cause big ponds on roads.

"It's a classic situation in autumn when drains are blocked with all the leaves coming down.

"There has been a small risk of tornados although the force isn't quite active or deep enough to pose that kind of threat, but it's a possibility."

He added: "It was quite nasty but not quite as bad as it could have been. It is autumn and we should expect this kind of thing."

The wet and windy weather was due to end by midweek. It will be drier and cooler with some frost by Thursday morning, he said.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service advised people to take extra care and to keep an eye on weather reports.

Residents were also urged to look after their neighbours in case of flooding and to stay off the roads in severe weather.

"Adverse weather" led to Condor Ferries cancelling its service between Weymouth in Dorset and France today.

The ferry was due to leave Weymouth at 10am, calling at Guernsey and Jersey before arriving at the French port of St Malo, returning to Weymouth at 10.30pm.

Passengers were advised to contact their local Condor office.

Thamesport, a port used by container ships on the Isle of Grain, Kent, was closed at 11am due to the bad weather.

Motorists were advised to avoid the A228 at Grain due to a build-up of traffic caused by the closure.

Kent Police also issued a warning for people to take extra care when venturing outdoors in the county and to fasten any loose objects outside.

A spokeswoman for the Port of Dover said the "rough" sea conditions had led to some cross-Channel sailings being delayed.

She added that the port was currently experiencing gale force winds of eight to nine.

The Port of Dover said rough sea conditions in the Channel, with a gale force 9 wind, were affecting some sailings.

Slight disruption was being caused to departures from the port's Eastern Docks with P&O Ferries and SeaFrance to Calais.

In addition, services with Norfolkline to Dunkirk were also subject to delays, a port spokesman said.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said it had been called out to reports of flooding in a road and in a pub in the Mid Sussex area.