Met Office issues UK-wide yellow warnings for thunderstorms, rain

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms and rain across the UK, following the hottest days of the year. Four yellow thunderstorm warnings are in place from 12pm to 9pm on Monday, covering parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, much of southern England and the Midlands, and most of Wales. Forecasters have warned that heavy downpours could lead to flash-flooding and may cause disruptions to motorists on the roads, as well as bus and rail services. A yellow weather warning for rain has also been issued for southern parts of England and Wales until 9am on Monday.

This forecast comes after a weekend of scorching temperatures and heavy rainfall. On Sunday, a temperature of 32C was recorded at Kew Gardens in southwest London, with much of the UK experiencing hotter temperatures than Monaco and the French Riviera, where temperatures remained in the low 20s. However, the UK’s temperatures fell just short of this year’s record high of 32.2C, which was reached on Saturday in Chertsey, Surrey.

A total of 28.6mm of rain fell in Charlwood, Surrey, on Sunday afternoon, which is almost half the average for the whole month of June. Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said potentially a month’s worth of rain could fall within a short period. He explained: “On Monday, we’re expecting a fine and hot start, temperatures rising fairly quickly during the course of the morning under strong early summer sunshine and that’s likely to spark a few thundery showers.”

Some parts of Wales and England could see 30mm of rain in an hour, with 60 to 80mm in some spots. Northern parts of Northern Ireland, southwest Scotland, and the Highlands could experience 20 to 30mm of rain in an hour during the thunderstorms, and 40 to 50mm in some spots. Stroud added, “Potentially we are looking at a month’s worth of rain falling.”

The highest temperatures will be around Birmingham and in Wales, with widespread temperatures of 24C to 28C on Monday and some spots reaching 30C to 32C. This will be warmer than Monaco, which experienced 24.7C on Sunday and is expected to be between 22C and 24C on Monday.

A heat-health alert for hot weather remains in place until 9am on Tuesday. The five regions of England under an amber alert, when the heat is likely to impact the wider population, include the West Midlands, East Midlands, East of England, South East, and South West. A further yellow alert, when the weather is likely to impact vulnerable groups, is in place for the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humber, and London.

The alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office, covers England and provides warnings of hot weather that might impact the health of the public. It is designed to assist healthcare workers managing periods of extreme temperatures.

Slightly cooler temperatures are expected from Tuesday onwards, with Thursday and Friday in the mid-high 20s, according to Stroud. He said, “We are likely to see the hot weather continue although high pressure is starting to build in. That’s going to kill off the showers and moving into next week the temperature will dip slightly to the mid to high 20s.”