THE Met Office has issued a yellow warning ahead of expected heavy rainfall in Dorset and most of the South Coast.

Meteorologists have reported that heavy rainfall should be expected across the evening from 6pm tonight (October 15) until midday on October 16.

A spokesperson for the Met Office said: “Areas of heavy rain are expected to develop and push north across the warning area. Rain will develop in southwest England late afternoon, before becoming heavier and expanding north on Tuesday evening and overnight into Wednesday.

“Many places will see around 10-20 mm of rain, but there is a chance some locations may see considerably more than this over a 6 hour period, most likely parts of southwest England and south Wales.

“A few places may see 50-80 mm of rain fall in 6 hours. Isolated thunderstorms are also possible in the south of the warning area, with lightning an additional hazard.”

Travel disruption is expected as a result of the weather.

There is also a slight chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses.