A SERIOUS 28-hour weather warning for heavy rain covering Southend has been issued - with flooding  and power cuts "likely".

A yellow weather warning for rain covering all of south Essex is in place from 3pm on Saturday until 6pm on Sunday.

The Met Office has warned “flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely” and “some interruption to power supplies and other services” should be expected.

Bus, train, and car journeys will “probably” take longer, the weather experts warn.

To help residents plan ahead, here is the hour-by-hour forecast for the Southend borough while the warning is in place:

Saturday

3pm - 5pm: Overcast, 10 per cent chance of rain

6pm - 9pm: Cloudy with a 10 per cent chance of rain

10pm: Cloudy with the chance of rain increasing to 20 per cent

11pm: 50 per cent chance of light rain

Sunday

12 - 2am: 50 per cent chance of light rain

3am - 6am : 90 per cent chance of heavy rain

7am - 9am: 60 per cent chance of light rain

10am - 12pm: Cloudy, with a 20 per cent chance of rain

1pm - 3pm: Sunny intervals, 10 per cent chance of rain

4pm - 6pm: Clear evening