London sees wettest day in nearly 40 years

Drenching thunderstorms soaked London on Monday, with parts of city seeing the region's heaviest single-day rainfall since 1983.

Thunderstorms developed across England's capital city during the afternoon hours on Monday and continued to soak the area through the evening. While some parts of the city were spared from the heaviest of the rain, Kew Gardens received 1.84 inches (46.8 mm) during the deluge. This was the wettest day at the observation site in 38 years.

Typically, the entire month of July brings about 1.8 inches (46 mm) of rain to the location.

Water was seen flooding streets and cascading down stairways in parts of the city. Significant travel disruptions were reported as parts of the Tube were inundated with water.

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Several train routes were affected and a lightning strike damaged signaling at Epsom which affected trains between London Waterloo and Dorking, according to the BBC.

Disruptions to rail service continued on Tuesday morning around the region.

"A slow-moving area of low pressure lingered across western Europe at the start of this week, which brought rounds of rainfall and unsettled weather to the southern United Kingdom," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Smithmyer.

Radar from around the time of the flooding shows a line of strong thunderstorms stretching from near England's southern coast northward to London.

Torrential downpours brought on by a nearby frontal boundary overwhelmed parts of London, according to Smithmyer.

The worst of the flooding was reported across western portions of the city where the London Fire Brigade received more than 1,000 calls to assist in flooding incidents.

The heaviest of the rain was highly localized. While Kew Gardens saw nearly 2 inches (50.1 mm) of rain, London's Heathrow International Airport, about 5 miles (8 km) away, received just 0.36 of an inch (9.1 mm).

Even less rain fell in eastern parts of the city with the London City Airport receiving just 0.19 of an inch (4.8 mm) of rain.

"Heading into the middle of the week, a nearby frontal boundary brought additional showers and thunderstorms to the United Kingdom, though shower activity remained isolated in nature," said Smithmyer. "Approaching high pressure will bring even drier conditions during the second half of the week and potentially into the weekend."

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