A series of crashes and flooding caused chaos during the morning rush hour.
Journey times were doubled, if not tripled, after collisions on the M25 and the M1 leading to gridlock on roads around St Albans, Watford, and Rickmansworth.
But surface water and burst water mains also caused huge problems for motorists this morning with a number of floods, particularly across St Albans.
Flooding in Holywell Hill, St Albans. Credit: Marc S Carless
On the M25, there was a crash between a van and a car at j19 for Watford, with delays back to j22 for London Colney.
The M25 delays had a knock-on effect on the lanes via Croxley Green, the A404 between Rickmansworth and Chorleywood, and the A41 and then Hempstead Road into Watford.
DELAYS: Long delays across most of the county today, lots of surface water and bad weather, allow extra time for your journey and use caution. pic.twitter.com/TtXJp1j4gv
— HCC Highways (@Herts_Highways) September 24, 2019
Meanwhile, two lanes were closed northbound between j5 for Watford and j6 for Bricket Wood on the M1 after a vehicle hit the central reservation.
Numerous vehicles were spotted parked up on the hard shoulder between the junctions with some broken down.
Lanes two and three are closed on M1 Northbound between J5 A41 (Watford) and J6 (North Watford). due to a collision. Congestion from J4 (Edgware / Harrow). Traffic didn’t have a chance to recover from another accident a short while ago on the same stretch.
— BBC London Travel (@BBCTravelAlert) September 24, 2019
St Albans city centre was brought to a halt too this morning.
Holywell Hill is flooded near the entrance to Verulamium Park with drivers forced to crawl slowly though the water.
Holywell Hill, St Albans. Credit: Marc S Carless
Camp rd this morning @KezCobb @Mariongourd51 @LauraBill8 @Stalbansdistfb @radioverulam @lizneedhamSTAR @StTastes @DeeClared @RVmorning @mylocalnews_uk @hertsad @HeartHertsNews pic.twitter.com/rQF1AjPlPH
— St Albans Action for Homeless (@StAlbans_Action) September 24, 2019
There reports of more floods in other areas of the city.
In Borehamwood, Tesco petrol station forecourt has partially flooded.
Tesco Borehamwood petrol station. Credit: Gail Walton
Our area of Hertfordshire did not see as much rainfall as other parts of the country this morning, but it was enough to bring the roads to a standstill.
The problems came after a heavy night and morning of rainfall, with some drains unable to cope with the amount of water falling from the sky.
The rain is set to continue all morning and we could see stormy weather this afternoon.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms affecting much of England and Wales, with flooding possible in a few places. Brighter and showery in southern, western and central areas later. Rain reaching parts of southern Scotland but much of northwestern Britain brighter. https://t.co/Hjw1otqXUL pic.twitter.com/EKsDLZzdAu
— Met Office (@metoffice) September 24, 2019
Most of the delays have now cleared although traffic is heavy in some places still.
Were you affected by the delays this morning or do you have any images of flooding or the queues in your area? Email nathan.louis@newsquest.co.uk or visit our social media pages.
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