Staff reporter(wp/es):
Londoners woke to torrential rain and flash flooding this morning as storm Angus battered the capital.
Travellers were left stranded as trains coming into the city were cancelled and parts of west London were submerged in the raging weather.
Southeastern Railway cancelled many trains before 10am and some early morning South West Trains services were also abandoned.
Some Londoners said they woke up to leaking roofs while others who left the house described “a really grubby morning” and “horrible conditions” on the roads.
Kerry Simpkin, from London, took to social media after he was kept up all night by the storm and said: “Sounds like I won’t have a fence left in my garden!!”
Night shift worker Rachel Bedford, from Carshalton in Surrey, said: “Think I’ll be swimming home from my night shift instead of driving. This wind and rain is ridiculous.”
Karthic Sinnadurai said: “So much rain on my window. Keeping me awake.”
Flooding was reported on and around Talgarth Road in Hammersmith including Lower Mortlake Road and Chalker's Corner.
Elswhere in the UK, Angus left a trail of destruction across the south coast of England with sea walls damaged and roads flooded in Swanage, Dorset.
The worst of the wind was felt outside of London with wind speeds of 97mph recorded in the English Channel while Kent, Sussex and the Isle of Wight were hit by the strongest gusts.
In London itself, the Met Office told the Standard they have so far recorded winds of around 35mph with some odd 40mph gusts.
More than 25 flood warnings were issued for areas mainly in the south west on England.
Runners due to take part in the Brighton 10k race on Sunday were turned away after the run was cancelled because of high winds.
On Saturday the Met Office issued an amber alert to London – the second most serious warning – and warned residents of potential flash flooding, power cuts and travel disruption.
Angus, which is the UK’s first storm of this season, arrived in the UK at midnight on Saturday and swept over London on Sunday morning.
Forecasters warned of winds of up to 80mph in coastal areas and up to 75mph across the south east and London.
Train companies quickly put out messages warning travellers they could face disruption.
But while some Londoners were hit with the effects of Angus, others said they did not hear the storm at all.
Sophia Ellis said: “Didn’t hear any of #stormangus at all last night and I woke up twice during the night. Did it even pass through London?”
Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge told the Standard on Saturday there was a risk of localised flooding as gales shake trees and cause fallen leaves to block drains.
He said winds were pretty high and London could see up to three centimetres of rain in just six to eight hours on Sunday.
But by Sunday afternoon the weather looks set to become calmer and bring with it some sunnier spells and temperatures of up to 10 and 11 degrees, forecaster Greg Dewhurst told the Standard.
The unpleasant weather looks likely to return on Monday morning, however, hitting commuters with more wet and windy weather.
“Another band of rain pushing up to the London area on Sunday night and Monday morning, it will be quite a wet start for commuters,” Mr Dewhurst said.
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