New storm warnings as hot spell fizzles out
A WEEKEND washout is on the cards after the longest stretch of high temperatures since the 1960s.
The sudden turnaround has already caused flash flooding and the Met Office has issued yellow thunderstorm warnings until Monday, with lightning and hail both expected.
Forecasters say some areas will remain dry, but others could see as much as 1½ inches of rain in under an hour amid severe conditions.
Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “The storms will be isolated but where they happen there will be frequent lightning, gusty winds and intense, heavy downpours.”
Strike
The Environment Agency has also issued flood alerts for some areas in England and Scotland.
Southern counties between Devon and Kent were hit with 12,000 lightning strikes in a matter of hours.
And storms also hit the north of England, with a spectacular lightning strike seen over Mow Cop Castle, a folly in the parish of Odd Rode in Cheshire,
A wooden pavilion caught fire from a strike in the village of Barton Stacey in Hampshire. Witness Donna
Stokes said there was a “horrendously loud bang of thunder”. She added: “The pavilion has been on the playing fields for somewhere in the region of 80 years.”
In Devon, homes were flooded in thunderstorms.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service tweeted that some residents had reported up to 18 inches of water inside homes.
And Highways England was forced to shut a section of the M25 anti-clockwise carriageway between J8 and J9 on Thursday rush-hour, sparking 70-minute delays.
The M23 was also partially closed off due to flash flooding on the southbound route between J8 and J7, leaving drivers stranded.
Days earlier, temperatures surpassed 93F (34C) in central London for the sixth day in a row on Wednesday – the first time that has happened since at least 1961.
Temperatures reached highs of 84F on Thursday, marking the first time the mercury remained below 86F in seven days.
But the Met Office said there was a risk of thunderstorms “right through to the start of next week, and maybe even beyond that”.