Heavy rains hit London, could hurt vote turnout

Rain and thunderstorms are causing canceled trains and slow journeys in the London area as people travel home from work.

Southeast England was hammered by up to 1.75 inches (4.6 centimeters) of rain overnight — roughly the average for all of June — and another band of rain swept through on Thursday afternoon.

Signal failures caused by flooding shut down sections of the London Underground subway system and several train lines into the capital. The Rail Delivery Group says train services will be severely disrupted Thursday evening and people should head home early if they can.

The disruption could hit the turnout for Britain’s referendum on whether to stay in the 28-nation European Union as many people go to polling booths after work. The polls close at 10 p.m. (2100GMT).

— AP