An amber weather warning is in place for parts of Suffolk – with heavy rain and thunderstorms set to batter the county this afternoon as a band of stormy weather comes in from the south.

The stormy spell is expected to hit the county later today with some heavy isolated rain, rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning expected to light up the sky.

Some strong winds are also expected with localised gusts of up to 35mph.

At 1pm today, the Met Office issued an updated 'amber' warning for thunderstorms between 4pm and 9pm, advising residents to be aware that there may be sudden flooding and travel disruption due to the weather.

The warning suggests that there may be problems with some transport services and that drivers should take extra care while on the roads.

Power cuts are likely to happen, and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.

Flooding is also likely and could happen quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.

Coastal and eastern areas of Suffolk are most at risk of seeing the storms as the pass over into the North Sea.

Chris Bell, forecaster at Weatherquest said: "It looks like there will be a fairly cloudy day with light rain though the morning.

"It will then become dryer through the afternoon before but there is a risk of some quite heavy localised rain and lighting into this evening.

"The risk will be highest from around 4pm-9pm today and those in eastern regions are most likely to see the lightning."

The unsettled weather will bring with it a slightly warmer spell with temperatures reaching 17C.