A YELLOW weather warning for heavy rain has been issued by the IW Met Service ­today (Tuesday).

Isle of Wight weather forecaster Jamie Russell for the service says up to 20mm of rainfall is possible in some parts of the Island from 4pm.

He is expecting bands of showers to merge at times to give more organised spells of rainfall, some of which will be extremely heavy locally.

Most places will see rainfall amounts between 3mm and 8mm, but localised downpours could see up to 20mm of rain falling in a short space of time in some parts.

The warning is live from 4pm this afternoon until midnight.

Jamie warns localised flash flooding is the main hazard, especially during the evening, though some places are likely to escape the heaviest rainfall.

Debris such as sand, soil and shingle may affect some rural roads and walkways due to field run-off. Large amounts of surface water could make driving conditions hazardous at times.

There is also a risk of overflowing storm drains and outfalls on some of the Island's beaches.