Met Office issues heavy rain warning for London as flooding disrupts Victoria Underground Station

Circle and District lines did not stop at Victoria Station due to flooding on Thursday
Miriam Burrell12 October 2023

Heavy rain in London overnight flooded parts of Victoria Underground Station, causing disruption for commuters on Thursday morning.

Circle and District lines did not stop at the station due to flooding, with transport users furious at Transport for London’s “absolutely pathetic” infrastructure.

A sign at Victoria Station told people to travel to St James Park Station and change to the westbound service to reach Victoria.

The eastbound District line platform at Victoria Station re-opened around 08.20am, TfL said.

The Met Office has issued a yellow rain warning for London and much of the south-west of England on Thursday and Friday, with downpours expected to become thundery in the capital.

The yellow warning is in place from 9pm on Thursday until midnight on Friday. Around two inches of rain may fall in parts of southern England and Wales on Thursday.

The Met Office said flooding is likely and bus and train services will be affected, with journey times taking longer.

“Occasionally heavy rain will reach south-west Britain on Thursday evening, then spread across much of England and Wales on Friday,” the forecaster said.

In London heavy, blustery and thundery rain is possible on Friday, clearing through the evening.

The rain will be followed by a cold snap, with temperatures set to drop significantly this weekend.

While sunshine re-emerges on Saturday, the capital will reach a high of just 13C and 12C on Sunday, with the cool spell set to continue into next week.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Brent Walker, said: “As we head through second half of this week cold air will push southwards across the country and there is a risk that showers over mountains of Scotland could turn wintry.

“By the weekend we expect all regions of the UK to be in the cold airmass and overnight frosts are possible.

“With high pressure continuing to dominate our weather early next week, it will start largely fine, settled, and cool by day, with cold nights and a risk of rural air frosts in places.”

While some people have vented frustration over flooding in London on Thursday morning, others welcome it.

One person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The smell of rain is always wonderful and in a big city it’s glorious.”

Another wrote: “London transport really is pathetic! A bit of rain and this happens.”

It comes after the warmest October day in five years was recorded on Sunday, as temperatures hit 25.8C in Kew Gardens, west London.

The average for October in the capital is usually 17C, the Met Office said.

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