Warm, humid air from the south is bringing thunderstorms to the UK today and through the weekend.
Today the risk is focussed on northeastern parts of England where a Yellow severe weather warning for thunderstorms is in place from 11:00 to 20:00.
It warns of 15-25mm of rain in under an hour in some places, and up to 40-60mm of rain accumulating over the North York Moors and East Yorkshire where storms align over similar areas. Frequent lightning and large hail are also possible.
Further south, as we move into the evening, a separate area of thunderstorms will push northwards into southeastern England from France. A Yellow severe weather warning is in place from midnight on Friday night to 21:00 on Saturday across much of England.
An Amber severe weather warning has been issued from 04:00 on Saturday until 11:00 on Sunday covering southeastern parts of England. The warning area includes London which is particularly susceptible to surface water issues during thunderstorms due to the high proportion of impermeable surfaces. Within this area, 20-40mm of rain could fall in an hour, with up to 70-100mm accumulating in just a few hours. If these higher totals fall over urban areas, there could be notable impacts.
The last Amber warning issued over London was for wind on 2 January 2024 when Storm Henk brought very strong winds across central parts of England and Wales.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Andy Page, said: “Intense rainfall will impact parts of the UK as thunderstorms move in from France. A range of severe weather warnings have been issued, including an Amber warning covering southeast England and London. The intense rainfall could lead to surface water flooding as well as frequent lightning and hail too.
“The situation is evolving, and warnings may be changed or added. This weekend is expected to be busy on the roads as more schools in England and Wales break up for the summer holidays, so it’s important people keep up-to-date with the very latest forecast. There will be spells of more pleasant weather in parts of the UK through the weekend, with some sunny spells in between systems as they move through.”
