It’s not so glorious at Goodwood in wind and rain
THE going was decidedly soft at Glorious Goodwood yesterday as Britain was battered by storms – just days after recording its hottest day in history.
As the five-day festival got underway, racegoers were determined not to let the appalling weather dampen their spirits.
But the backdrop of the rolling West Sussex countryside was probably the last thing on their minds as spectators battled with umbrellas in the wet and windy conditions.
Huge swathes of Britain were yesterday lashed by 50mph winds and torrential downpours as a month’s worth of rain – 2.3in (60mm) – fell in just a few hours.
It led to the Met Office issuing “threat to life” warnings across the whole of England and Wales and parts of Scotland as rain spread further than expected.
Households were left deluged by floodwater while roads turned into rivers, causing travel chaos.
Flooding
Meteorologist Sarah Kent said: “Low pressure has been moving north-east across the country.
“There have been bands of heavy, thundery showers and torrential downpours spiralling around that like a Catherine wheel, particularly over the northern part of England.
“There has also been frequent lightning and some flash flooding.”
In Bournemouth, some hardy souls took to the beach but risked having their tents and equipment blown out to sea as severe gusts caused some trees to come crashing down on roads.
Meanwhile, in Lyme Regis and West Bay, Dorset, holidaymakers huddled under umbrellas in torrential rain, inset – just 24 hours after hundreds packed the same beach on a glorious day of sunshine.
The main road in Nanpean, Cornwall, was also closed in both directions after a car crashed into a telegraph pole, bringing power cables down near a primary school.
The Met Office has said that frequent thundery downpours will continue to batter northern England and Scotland today.
Further showers are expected tomorrow and Friday, although they will be more scattered than in previous days and increasingly confined to the North and East. The bad weather comes just days after the hottest UK day was recorded.
A temperature of 101.66F (38.7C) was recorded at Cambridge University Botanic Garden on Thursday, exceeding the previous record of 101.3F which was set in Faversham, Kent, in August 2003. Dr Mark McCarthy, from the Met Office National Climate Information Centre, said: “Historically, UK summer heatwaves would typically tend to peak in the low 30s, with extreme events reaching the mid-30s.
“Climate change has increased the likelihood and severity of heatwave episodes across Europe, which will have also increased the risks of a 40C temperature event in the UK.”