Met Office issues severe weather warning for thunderstorms and flooding
Met Office issues severe weather warning for thunderstorms and flooding as parts of the UK get hit by heavy downpours – before 82F heatwave hits next week
- Downpours could cause flooding on Tuesday afternoon in a huge weather front
- The thunderstorm will move eastwards tomorrow to include Oxford, Cambridge
- Storms will gradually subside by Thursday but the south coast will face showers
- It comes ahead of heatwave next week which will see temperatures rocket to 82F
Published: 06:58 EDT, 16 June 2020 | Updated: 13:13 EDT, 16 June 2020
Thunderstorms will surge across much of Britain today and tomorrow as the Met Office issued yellow weather warnings ahead of a heatwave next week.
Downpours could cause flooding this afternoon in a huge weather front across the west of the country stretching from Cornwall to Glasgow and parts of Northern Ireland.
The tempest will move eastwards tomorrow to include Oxford, Cambridge and Lincoln and could cause havoc for homeowners and businesses.
Storms will gradually subside by Thursday but the south coast will be hit by slow-moving heavy showers which may lead to further flooding.
It comes ahead of a heatwave next week which will see temperatures rocket to 82F (28C) by Wednesday and stay high into the weekend.
Two women run for cover in Manchester city centre as the heaven’s opened ahead of thunderstorms today
Thunderstorms will surge across most of Britain today (left) and tomorrow (right) as the Met Office issued yellow weather warnings ahead of baking heat next week
There is also a yellow weather warning for rain and flooding for the south coast on Thursday as other parts of the country clear up
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Neil Armstrong said: ‘Although some places will miss these heavy showers and thunderstorms, where they do occur they’ll be quite lively bringing torrential downpours with 25 to 35mm rain falling in an hour and a few places seeing perhaps 40 to 50mm rain in a couple of hours.
‘With this heavy rain falling in a short time we could see some disruption to transport or damage to properties due to localised flooding, as well as the chance of lightning and hail.’
Looking ahead to the weekend, Deputy Chief Meteorologist Martin Young said: ‘As winds swing to the southwest over the weekend it’ll turn fresher and breezier and east coastal areas should lose the low cloud and mist, feeling warmer here as a result. On Saturday we’ll see a spell of rain moving across the UK from the west, but most can expect a drier day on Sunday.’
He added: ‘There are signs of a spell of warm and settled weather across southern parts of the UK next, with temperatures quite widely reaching mid-20s Celsius. It’ll be unsettled across north-western areas with temperatures closer to average.’
Shoppers in Manchester run for cover into the Arndale centre as a massive downpour hits the city centre
Motorists drive through heavy surface water during a thunderstorm in Builth Wells, Powys, on Tuesday
Left: Two men carry shopping with their umbrella up and masks on in Manchester. Right: One person enjoys the shower in the city centre
Dark clouds loom over Reading in Berkshire as thunderstorms threaten much of the country today and tomorrow
A small tornado swirled across the Yorkshire Dales yesterday after forming in the Lake District.
The funnel cloud was seen passing over Ingleborough Common and photographed by stunned locals.
The phenomenon forms when condensed water droplets from a cloud are mixed with a rotating column of wind.
They are often produced when supercell thunderstorms are in the air and can be followed by tornadoes.
Fierce thunder and torrential rain yesterday caused an Asda supermarket to be evacuated as a ceiling cam crashing to the floor in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
Roof tiles caved in at the store in the town centre and shoppers fled to safety. Dale Shore, who recorded the shocking scenes, told the MeN he had ‘never seen anything like it’.
The 35-year-old was shopping with his partner and her three-year-old son when water began gushing through the roof.
He said: ‘It was like something out of a film. It was crazy. We were on one of the aisles and I heard this water. It was coming through the roof, then the next thing we knew everything was falling in.
‘There were tiles falling down everywhere. It was mental. The security guard told us to follow him, but then a bit of the ceiling fell down and nearly hit him on the head. It just missed him.
‘The tiles were falling down everywhere so the security guard put us in a back room, but then the water was seeping under the door and the boy started panicking so we just made a dash for it. We literally ran out of the store. I’ve never seen anything like it. I couldn’t believe my eyes.’
Fierce thunder and torrential rain yesterday caused an Asda supermarket to be evacuated as a ceiling cam crashing to the floor in Rochdale, Greater Manchester (left and right)
An Asda spokesman said no injuries had been reported, adding ‘The store is closed while we make it safe for customers to return.’
Almost a month’s worth of rain fell in Rochdale in just a few hours on Monday afternoon, leaving parts of the town flooded.
In Milnrow cars were pictured underwater as Kiln Lane flooded and slip roads to the M62 were also closed due to flooding.
Meanwhile in the picturesque town of Ironbridge in Shropshire, flash flooding ripped through the streets and mixed with sewer water to swamp local businesses.
It came less than four months after the historic area had to be evacuation when swollen River Severn flood barriers looked likely to give way.
Meanwhile in the picturesque town of Ironbridge in Shropshire, flash flooding ripped through the streets and mixed with sewer water to swamp local businesses
Telford and Wrekin Council tweeted: ‘The rain has appeared with a vengeance this afternoon which has caused some surface flooding so if you’re out and about on the roads please take extra care. It is especially bad in Ironbridge so avoid this area if you can’
Chris Harrison, who owns the Dale End Cafe in Ironbridge, desperately worked with neighbours to try to barricade his business before the stinking water seeped in on Sunday.
But they were too late and shop, which was hit by the February floods, was covered in puddles and smelt of sewer water.
Mr Harrison told the Shropshire Star: ‘Every time we get heavy rain it floods. It wasn’t from the River Severn or the brook this time, it came up through a sewer.
‘What do I do? If I can’t get to speak to the powers that be and sort this out properly, I don’t know how I’m going to be able to carry on with it.
‘We only kept going after the last floods because of our community. I believe we’ve got one of the best communities here.’
Telford and Wrekin Council tweeted: ‘The rain has appeared with a vengeance this afternoon which has caused some surface flooding so if you’re out and about on the roads please take extra care. It is especially bad in Ironbridge so avoid this area if you can.’
Weather warnings have been issued for predicted thunderstorms tonight as torrential rain falls heavily on streets in Penrith, Cumbria
Furniture shop owner is left ‘devastated’ after store was flooded when river burst its banks during downpours on first day of trading since lockdown
On the first full day of trading in almost three months Philip Holt’s carpet shop was completely flooded.
The River Beal rose rapidly on Monday evening and flooded the whole of Dale Street in Milnrow, Rochdale.
The devastated shop owner said previous floods had cost him £10,000 as he is unable to get his shop, Carpet Creations, insured because it is in a flood area.
Pictured: s Philip Holt’s carpet shop completely flooded on Dale Street in Milnrow, Rochdale after the the River Beal rose rapidly on Monday evening
‘This can’t carry on – it is the fifth flood in five years since the Boxing Day floods in 2015,’ Philip told the BBC.
Milnrow and Newhey councillor Andy Kelly said the flood was one of the worst and quickest she had seen.
She said the frequent flooding of the River Beal is caused by climate change that is made worse by old Victorian sewers.
Although lots of money had been spent by the council on clearing the old drains Andy Kelly said it had not worked.
Philip employs six staff members who will help him fix the damage to his shop to reopen on Wednesday.
But Philip said he cannot keep putting all of his money back into the store whenever there is a flood.
Philip feels his community is forgotten about because they are ‘just a little village’.
