A new weather warning has been issued for heavy rainfall in some areas of England as the UK is hit by the remnants of former Hurricane Lee.

The tail end of Lee – an Atlantic storm which previously struck New England in the US and eastern Canada – has prompted fresh flood warnings in parts of northwest England and Wales before it subsides and is replaced by “unsettled weather” from Hurricane Nigel this weekend.

The Met Office has put out a yellow warning for heavy rain in southeast England with the alert in place from 4pm on Wednesday to 3am on Thursday.

It said: “Fifteen to 20mm (0.6in to 0.8in) could fall within an hour in places with as much as 30 to 40mm (1.2in to 1.6in) over two to three hours.

“This may lead to some travel disruption, especially during the busy evening travel period.”

There are also similar yellow warnings in other areas of the country including northwest England, northwest Wales and south Wales – these are in place until 6pm on Wednesday.

The Met Office said up to 50 to 100mm (2 to 4in) of rainfall is likely in those areas, with as much as 150 to 200mm (6 to 8in) in some locations.

The rain could lead to some flooding of homes and businesses.

As of 7pm, there were three flood warnings and 21 alerts in place in England, as well as one warning and 23 alerts in Wales.

Earlier on Wednesday, more than 500 properties were reported to be without power in Wales.

There has also been heavy rainfall in Devon in southwest England where some roads have been partially-submerged.

Meanwhile, a yellow warning for strong winds was issued for west and northwest Scotland until 7pm on Wednesday.

Looking ahead to later this week, Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge said: “On Sunday, we will start to see the influence of ex-tropical Hurricane Nigel, which will be offshore in the mid-Atlantic.

“These systems have a long reach, it will increase rainfall rates and also winds to bring unsettled weather to the UK.”