Lightning, thunder and rain has arrived in Essex this afternoon. 

The Met Office has extended its thunderstorm warning to the east of England, warning heavy showers could lead to localised flooding and travel disruption.

Parts of Essex are seeing "lightning, large hail and intense rainfall" at the moment.

The Met Office says these conditions are set to continue for at least the next couple of hours. 

There are now warnings in place across much of England, including across Essex, until 7pm on Tuesday. 

Read more >> Warning issued as 'lightning, large hail and intense rainfall' arrive in Essex

Essex Fire Service says it is expecting some roads in the county to flood this afternoon.

Drivers have been advised to take extra care and avoid driving through the flood water.

A website allows you to track the lightning strikes as they happen across Essex. 

lightningmaps.org shows where lightning strikes have happened in the last hour. 

It shows there have been 140 in Halstead and Braintree area and 74 in the Chelmsford area. 

Echo: Website www.lightningmaps.org shows where the lightning strikes have been across EssexWebsite www.lightningmaps.org shows where the lightning strikes have been across Essex

Earlier on Tuesday Essex Weather Centre warning thunderstorms were set to arrive in Essex.

Temperatures have soared in recent days, with aprts of the county seeing highs of 30c plus.

Temperatures are expected to remain in the high 20s across Essex tomorrow, before eventually dropping to around 21c on Friday.

The Met Office has issued its first ever extreme warning in parts of the UK as some places see temperatures rise above 30c.