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Home Sevenoaks News Article
Thunderstorms are battering the county this morning.
Heavy rain, flooding and “almost constant” thunder and lightning has been reported in the west of the county.
An underpass tunnel near Northfleet station has flooded, meaning trains can no longer stop at the station.
Commuters hoping to make it into London have been advised to travel to Gravesend and change over for a London service.
Meanwhile, services have been suspended after a train hit a tree that was blown down over the line between Sevenoaks and Tonbridge.
Southeastern have reported that the driver managed to remove the tree from underneath the front of the train, but that it has been forced to terminate at Sevenoaks.
The line remains shut while staff check to make sure it has been fully cleared.
Sevenoaks residents have reported lightning striking “every few seconds” in the town and surrounding area.
One resident said: “I’ve not seen anything quite like it for a long time, there’s almost constantly rolling thunder.
“We haven’t had much rain in this part of Kent so the roads will be completely awash.”
The strikes have also been hitting further north, towards Gravesend and Dartford.
Lightning trackers have also reported individual bolts striking as far as Maidstone.
Residents in the rest of the county have been waking up to strange colours in the sky and threatening clouds.
A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms is in place across the county until 3pm today.
The Met Office says driving conditions could be affected by spray, standing water and even hail.
There may also be delays to train services, power cuts, flooding and lightning strikes.
So far this southern England has only had 29% of the average total rainfall for August, the Met Office says.
The welcome rain, which is expected on Friday as well, could see between five and 15mm of rainfall over three hours.
Following a wet two days, the bank holiday is expected to be largely dry with warm sunny spells.
Did you manage to get pictures of the storm? Send them to ajee@thekmgroup.co.uk.
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