MORE than 24 hours of torrential rain and thunderstorms are set to hit Essex today.

The Met Office has issued a blanket yellow weather warning for the East of England, set to begin at 6pm tonight and last all the way through to 9pm tomorrow, totalling 27 hours.

There is expected to be huge disruption for travellers and a risk of flooding in certain places.

Affected areas also include much of the midlands and parts of the north east.

Essex Weather Centre tweeted: "Interesting charts showing up for Tuesday night. Strong thunderstorms, frequent lightning and hail quite widely across the region. Met Office have issued a yellow warning for all districts of Essex for this and further thunderstorms on Wednesday."

There is a small chance of flash flooding for businesses, with lightening strikes affecting electricity supplies, with hazardous driving conditions and cancellations of train and bus services.