The unpredictable weather has been causing problems for motorists in Surrey so far this weekend.
Not only has the first day of the school holidays meant the roads are looking extra busy but the on-off showers and brewing storm have created issues for drivers on Saturday (July 22).
The bright sunny spells from this morning seem to have disappeared and showers are on the way again, and it is expected become quite heavy in parts of the county.
If your journey has been affected by the weather or you've noticed problems in the area, you can tweet us with information or pictures (when it's safe to do so) @getsurrey or email us at surreylive@trinitymirror.com
Keep up to date with the latest news from around the county via the free Get Surrey app.
You can set up your app to see all the latest news and events from your area, plus receive push notifications for breaking news.
Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android .
Key Events
End of the blog - back with more updates tomorrow
That’s it for our live blog.
Southern Rail and Gatwick Express services are still disrupted due to the earlier lightning strike, and motorists are still being advised to take care on the roads in these wet conditions.
We’ll bring you more updates tomorrow if the unpredictable weather decides to cause more traffic and travel problems.
You can read the weather forecast for this weekend here.
Service update for Southern and Gatwick Express
Normal service resumed on London Overground between Sydenham and West Croydon.
Delays of up to 45 minutes on Gatwick Express between Victoria and Gatwick Airport.
Normal service on Great Western Railway between Redhill and Gatwick Airport.
Delays of up to 45 minutes on Southern between Norwood Junction and East Croydon.
Where can I use my ticket if my journey has been cancelled?
Advice for Thameslink and Gatwick Express Customers:
Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express have a mutual ticket acceptance agreement in place, meaning you can use your ticket on these services on any ‘reasonable route’.
Advice for Southern customers:
Southern services are now able to run between Norwood Junction and East Croydon and between West Croydon to Norwood Junction.
You can use your tickets on the following services:
- London Underground on all reasonable routes,
- Tramlink between Beckenham Junction and Wimbledon
- London Buses between East Croydon and London.
- London Overground on routes where they are able to operate.
- MetroBus between Horsham and Redhill.
- South West Trains between Southampton Central / Portsmouth Harbour / Dorking and London Waterloo.
- Southeastern between Beckenham Junction / Hastings to London.
- Great Western Railway between Gatwick Airport and Reigate
- Thameslink on any reasonable route
Advice for London Overground customers:
You can use your ticket on London Buses and London Underground on any ‘reasonable route’.
Update - which services are disrupted?
An earlier lightning strike near Norwood Juction has caused disruption to trains in the Norwood Junction area - disruption is expected until 6pm.
All lines have now reopened however the following services are still currently being disrupted:
- Southern between Norwood Junction and East Croydon and also from West Croydon to Norwood Junction
- Southern services between London Victoria and Sutton via Crystal Palace currently diverted between Balham and West Croydon, calling at stations via Selhurst.
- Gatwick Express services currently unable to run
- Thameslink services between London Bridge and Brighton.
- Thameslink services from Bedford to Three Bridges currently cancelled between London Blackfriars and Three Bridges.
- London Overground currently unable to run between Sydenham and West Croydon.
Delays of up to 45 minutes on Gatwick Express between Victoria and Gatwick Airport.
Signalling system fixed but delays still in place
As of 4.30pm, it has been reported that the fault has been fixed and all lines are now open, but services are still subject to disruption with delays/cancellations. The delays are due to lightning damaging the signalling system.
Great Western Railway also affected by lightning strike - Reduced service on Great Western Railway between Redhill and Gatwick Airport due to lightning damaging the signalling system.
Lightning strike causing problems for Gatwick Express and Southern Rail trains
A lightning strike near Norwood Juction is causing disruption to trains in the Norwood Junction area. Disruption is expected until 6pm.
The following changes will apply to services:
- Southern are unable to run between Norwood Junction and East Croydon and also from West Croydon to Norwood Junction
- Southern services between London Victoria and Sutton via Crystal Palace will be diverted between Balham and West Croydon, calling at stations via Selhurst.
- Gatwick Express services are unable to run
- Thameslink are unable to run between London Bridge and Brighton.
- Thameslink services from Bedford to Three Bridges will be cancelled between London Blackfriars and Three Bridges.
- London Overground are unable to run between Sydenham and West Croydon.
Warning from police
Surrey Police’s Roads Policing Unit posted this tweet earlier today.
Another post on the unit’s Twitter account reads
Folks, the wet weather is not letting up. Please slow down - give yourself more time. We’ve dealt with several vehicles that have spun out.”
Other advise from the Surrey road cops states you should: “Drive with care. Reduce your speed. And Anticipate.”
Yellow weather warning issued
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for today - between 1pm and 10pm.
The report says: “Heavy, thundery showers could lead to some localised flooding, especially where they affect urban areas.”
Some of these showers will be thundery and quite prolonged, though not on a scale of that experienced earlier this week. Today’s showers will then slowly start to fade away this evening. Lightning could be an additional hazard.”
More weather woes for cricket
Stoke D’Abernon Cricket Club in Cobham has also had to abandon its match due to the weather.
M25 traffic update
Traffic is looking particularly bad on the M25 - Traffic portal Inrix is reporting very slow traffic on M25 clockwise between Junction 13 A30 (Staines) and Junction 15 M4.
As you can see from the live motorway camera images below, it looks like there will be long delays.
Traffic and travel update
Dorking: Traffic heavier than normal on A25 Westcott Road Eastbound in to the one way system. Travel time is eight minutes.
Reigate: Very slow traffic on A217 Bell Street / Cockshot Hill into town before High Street (Market Hotel). Plus, very slow traffic on A25 Reigate Road from the one way system to Blackstone Hill (Shaws Corner).
Felbridge: Slow traffic on A264 Copthorne Road Eastbound before A22 London Road (The Star Inn traffic lights).
Camberley: Very slow traffic on A30 London Road Westbound around Frimley Road and towards the Meadows Roundabout. Travel time is 11 minutes.
Esher: A307 Portsmouth Road busy, but moving around Sandown Park Racecourse.
Showers causing more problems for Sport in Surrey
The Lacrosse World Cup is underway in Surrey and also adding to traffic problems.
Although road closures aren’t in place, those attending the event are advised to leave plenty of time to travel.
The weather is driving a wedge between us and weekend fun...
You may have to rethink your plans for the afternoon if you were hoping to visit The Village!
Miserable weather and miserable roads
It may be a combination of the rain and roadworks, but it’s best to avoid the A3 if you don’t fancy spending your afternoon stuck in traffic.
Match abandoned
Weybridge Cricket Club has had to abandon its match due to the weather.
Thunder and lightning in Weybridge
Other residents have said the clap of thunder was so loud it caused a number of alarms to go off in the area.
What was that in Weybridge?
Twitter users reported hearing a ‘massive explosion’ in Weybridge at around 2pm - a number of residents in the area have said it appeared to be a huge clap of thunder with some rather scary lightning. Looks like a storm would well be on the way.