UK storms to continue after week of scorching weather
Thunderstorms and heavy rain are forecast to continue in parts of Britain this weekend, making it a total washout for many.
After a week of scorching temperatures, the dryness has been replaced with downpours and flash flooding that has caused disruption to roads and railways.
The Met Office has revised its yellow thunderstorm warnings for the weekend and removed them from some parts of England and Wales. They remain in place, however, for the south of England and south Wales, and from Saturday spread to the rest of Wales, the Midlands, and the north of England.
The Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said: “While [it was] a hot and thundery week for some of us, this weekend we maintain the risk of further thunderstorms for parts of England and Wales.
“The best of the weather will be up across parts of western Scotland and Northern Ireland where we see plenty of sunshine. Despite the drop in temperatures it will still be quite warm and humid out there, not only by day but also by night, and the nights will still be quite uncomfortable to sleep in as we go through the next few nights.”
Analysis by the Met Office showed that heatwave thresholds were met across a large swathe of England and parts of Wales over the last week. The south-east of England and East Anglia recorded the longest duration and highest temperatures.
The Environment Agency (EA) has six flood alert warnings in force across the West Midlands.
Neil Davies, an EA flood duty manager, said: “Isolated thunderstorms could bring sudden surface water and river flooding, which may lead to flooded properties and severe travel disruption in some areas. Further surface water and river flooding is also a possibility until Sunday.”
Meanwhile, the fire service was warning of the potential dangers of visiting the coast during poor weather after beaches were closed in Cornwall.
“If you do head to the coast whilst it is foggy, stay out of the water until directed otherwise by lifeguards or you see red and orange flags raised,” a spokesman said.
“When driving in fog remember to slow down, use fog lights if visibility is seriously reduced and switch fog lights off when visibility improves.”
Storms struck in various parts of the country on Thursday night, with areas around Maidenhead, Berkshire, particularly hard hit. Further south, the M23 was one of many roads affected by the deluges, and was temporarily closed in both directions between junctions eight and seven.
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In Kent, 19 people were evacuated from a train that had become stuck after a landslide between West Malling and Borough Green.
Network Rail said teams had been working to clear mud washed on to the railway by torrential rain in the area.