A WARNING that areas of Cumbria could experience torrential downpours later today has been issued by the Met Office.

It has been issued due to the potential for thunderstorms to develop over parts of the county with the risk of some localised flooding.
Localised flooding is possible 

Current forecasts indicate that for Cumbria the main risk period of seeing any localised flooding impacts will be between 4pm and 11pm today.

A statement from the Met Office National Severe Weather Warning Service says: "Uncertainty as always remains regarding which areas of the county are most at risk of seeing any impacts. 

"These storms should they develop tend to be hit and miss in nature and many areas will see little if any rainfall and remain dry. 

"Should a storm occur in your locality there will be an increased chance of some localised significant disruption from torrential rainfall which can lead to surface water flooding of roads and even some homes and businesses.

"The possibility of flooding from smaller rapid responding and urban watercourses also cannot be discounted with the potential worst case of some localised rainfall totals of 15 to 30mm in one hour and 40 to 50mm in less than three hours." 

The Environment Agency says it is monitoring the situation closely and has been raising the awareness of the forecast and alerted key responders to the potential risk of flooding.

Visit the National Severe Weather Warning Service: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/warnings for updates and advice about what to do in event of flooding.