Britain is bracing for a spell of thunderstorms expected to bring frequent lightning and up to a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours. Despite the warm weather continuing for the rest of this week, the Met Office has issued a 36-hour weather warning amid concerns about potential flash flooding in some areas.
Thunder and lightning are forecasted to begin this evening, extending into Thursday for some regions of England and Wales. Highs of 30°C (86°F) are expected to continue, adding to the unusual weather pattern.
Neil Armstrong, chief forecaster at the Met Office, stated, “The focus for Wednesday’s thunderstorm Yellow warning extends across a swathe of southeastern England from Hampshire to Essex, including London and parts of the Home Counties. While many areas will stay dry, a few places could see thunderstorms later today with frequent lightning and heavy downpours possible.
The warning comes after the UK’s warmest day of 2024 so far, with temperatures reaching 32.0°C (89.6°F) in London at both Kew Gardens and Heathrow Airport.
The Met Office’s Yellow thunderstorm warning covers most of England and Wales, excluding the far southwest and northwest regions. Dan Holley, a Met Office deputy chief forecaster, highlighted that not all locations within the broad geographical area would see impacts. The most intense impacts are likely to be focused on central, southern, and southeast areas of England. Here, some locations will witness torrential downpours, large hail, and frequent lightning. A few places could see 50-100mm of rainfall in a few hours.”
The average August rainfall in England is 75mm (2.95 inches). The storms could result in road closures, train delays, and power cuts. There is also a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, posing a danger to life.
The heatwave, confirmed by the Met Office, is expected to continue for the next few days, with temperatures likely to remain high. The UK Health Security Agency has issued yellow heat health warnings for all areas of England, except the northeast and northwest, until 9 AM on Friday.
Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell added that the heatwave began on Monday and is ongoing, with temperatures remaining high. Heatwave criteria are met when a location records at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave threshold, which is 28°C (82°F) in London.
Yesterday, a fire broke out in Orpington, South East London, with four fire engines and around 25 firefighters called to a field where four hectares of straw were ablaze.
To cope with the warm evenings, the Met Office has urged Britons to keep their homes as cool as possible by opening windows at night to let in cooler air and keeping curtains or blinds shut during the day.
