UK weather: Month’s rain set to batter parts of Britain over next 12 hours after Brits basked in 30C sun
ALMOST a month’s rain could fall over parts of the UK in the next 12 hours with more downpours ahead this week – after Brits basked in 30C sunshine.
New weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office for thunderstorms and rain tonight and tomorrow.
Revellers enjoying the Parklife festival in Manchester‘s Heaton Park have already suffered the impact of a turn in the weather, with music acts put on hold due to downpours.
Crowds scrambled for cover and performance on all stages stopped for an hour as the heavens opened and lightning stuck over the festival attended by 70,000 people, on its second day with acts such as the 1975, the Prodigy and Carl Cox scheduled to play.
Manchester city centre was also drenched in rain, as shoppers outside its Arndale mall rushed for shelter.
Temperatures have hit 30C in West Suffolk today, with forecasts suggesting they could reach as high as 32C.
Saturday saw the hottest day on record this year – as Brits packed out beaches and parks across the country to soak up the summer heat, with temperatures soaring to 32.2C.
Seaside resorts such as Brighton and Bournemouth were crammed with sun-seekers soaking up the summer heat, as were parks across the UK.
Yet heavy rainfall is now about to follow, according to the Met Office.
The conditions are due to an ‘Iberian plume’ – a mass of warm air travelling north from Spain that has also triggered a risk of downpours.
Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said: “We do have rain moving up north and westwards across the English Channel, up towards Bristol and into South Wales.
“We’ve got ourselves a yellow rain warning covering that area, and 10 to 20mm of rain is quite likely in a large area.
“Some could see 40 to 60mm in three to six hours – some places in the West Country could see nearly a month’s worth of rain in the next 12 hours.
“We’ve also got a yellow thunderstorm warning – the high temperatures today are likely to trigger a few thunderstorms.
“Some spots could see 30 to 40mm within an hour, so an intense downpour of rain.
“Some spots could see in excess of 60mm in a very short period – there’s likely to be some hazards from localised flooding and surface water issues.”
He did suggest Monday would bring “a fine and hot start”, with “temperatures rising fairly quickly during the course of the morning under strong early summer sunshine”.
But Mr Stroud warned: “That’s likely to spark a few thundery showers.
“Parts of Wales and England will see 30mm of rain in an hour, 60 to 80mm in some spots.
“North parts of Northern Ireland, south-west Scotland and the Highlands could see 20 to 30mm of rain in an hour during the thunderstorms, and 40 to 50mm in some spots.”
The temperature is expected to remain high throughout, however – likely to hover between 24C and 28C on Monday, with some areas hitting 30C to 32C, he added.
This is despite a yellow warning for rain covering southern parts of England and Wales from 7pm until 9am tomorrow.
Four yellow thunderstorm warnings are in place from 12pm to 9pm on Monday, affecting parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
These mean thunderstorms and rain could cause disruption such as potential flooding and difficult driving conditions, according to the Met Office.
Slightly cooler temperatures are on the way from Tuesday onwards, with Thursday and Friday in the mid-high 20s, the forecaster added.
Yet the UK Health Security Agency has nevertheless issued an amber alert for hot weather until 9am on Tuesday in the West Midlands, East Midlands, east of England, South East and South West.
A further yellow alert – less serious though still predicting some disruption to services due to weather conditions – is in place for the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber regions of England, as well as London.
The Met Office had expected up to 100mm of rain on Saturday evening – the equivalent to a month’s worth – but the most recorded was 21.8mm in Billinge Hill, Merseyside.
Heavy rain and hail did lash down on Saturday evening across the North West as an amber warning for thunderstorms was issued.
And in Worcestershire, one road – the A4133 Holt Fleet – had to be closed after a tree came down and brought a power line with it.
Elsewhere in Worcester, the Charlotte Edwards Cup final between cricket teams Southern Vipers and the Blaze was suspended on Saturday evening due to downpours – before resuming play today.