England is braced for some much-needed heavy rain this weekend as the Met Office imposed a 21-hour thunderstorm warning – just as a series of hosepipe bans begin.
Forecasters issued the yellow ‘danger to life’ alert from 9pm tomorrow until 6pm on Saturday amid concerns over possible flooding, power cuts and travel disruption.
Temperatures are set to reach 30C (86F) in some parts of the UK today and tomorrow as conditions remain humid before the unsettled weekend weather sweeps in.
Torrential downpours could then cause difficult driving conditions and road closures, while trains and buses could be cancelled by flooded roads or lightning strikes.
Power cuts could also impact homes and businesses – with flash flooding, hail or strong winds potentially causing damage to buildings in the worst-hit areas.
The Met Office added that ‘fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible, causing a danger to life’ and warned ‘communities might become cut off if roads flood’.
Most of England was covered by the warning apart from the South West, with thundery rain set to reach the south of the warning area on Friday night.
This will then spread north to affect much of England through Saturday – with up to 30mm (1.2in) within an hour and up to 90mm (3.5in) in less than three hours possible.
The Met Office has issued a thunderstorm warning from 9pm tomorrow until 6pm on Saturday
People walking in the rain at Newcastle Quayside on Tuesday as the weather turns
Rain is expected to clear from the south of the area by early Saturday afternoon, although forecasters expect further thunderstorms to develop in that area.
Forecasters said ‘frequent lightning, gusty winds and large hail’ are also likely, and urged anyone in an area at risk of flash flooding to prepare an emergency kit.
It will follow a separate yellow thunderstorm warning for Northern Ireland running from 11am today until 8pm today; while there is a similar alert for North East England from 12pm tomorrow until 8pm tomorrow – before the wider warning begins.
Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said temperatures will climb to as high as 29C today, before peaking at a potential 30C in London tomorrow.
Then the unsettled weather is forecast to spread across more of the UK over the weekend, as temperatures start to slowly drop.
Mr Vautrey said: ‘We’re starting to see south westerly winds come in, that’s bringing in hotter and more humid conditions, particularly in southern areas, we are going to see temperatures climbing again.
‘There is the potential for 30C around the London region by the time we reach Friday, other areas around south east England will push towards high 20s.
People walk over dry grass at Greenwich Park in South East London on Tuesday
Dried grounds surrounds pitches at Maidenhead and Bray Cricket Club in Berkshire on Tuesday
Dry cracked earth at Baitings Reservoir in Ripponden, West Yorkshire, last Wednesday
‘Average temperatures in July for the south east is around 23C, so it will be about 5C above average.
‘On Thursday it will probably creep up to around 28C in London, maybe 29C in more central England. Friday is looking to be the peak of the current hot spell.
‘This heat is not going to be as widespread as what we’ve just come out of, areas to the north aren’t going to be seeing the same highs.
‘The heat we had last time was home grown, it wasn’t that humid, but because this heat is coming in from the south westerly direction, it is more humid. It’s going to be feeling more sticky.’
The weather is set to turn unsettled through the weekend, with a chance of heavy showers and thunderstorms across the UK.
Weekend high temperatures are still expected to reach 28C or 29C on Saturday and 25C on Sunday.
There is a ‘small probability’ a localised area manages to get the three-day category for a heatwave this week, but for most people it will be more of a ‘hot spell’, Mr Vautrey added.
It comes as Southern Water yesterday became the latest company to bring in a hosepipe ban, to protect rare chalk stream habitat, as England battles exceptionally dry weather.
The company said restrictions on hosepipes for activities such as watering gardens, filling paddling pools or washing cars would come in for households in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight from Monday.
It is the latest announcement by water companies bringing in hosepipe bans in response to the driest start to the year since 1976 for England.
Low water levels at Yorkshire Water’s Agden Reservoir near Sheffield last Saturday
Wilting cricket creases are surrounded by parched grass at a sports ground in Bristol last week
Firefighters at a field in Marlbrook, Worcestershire, following a wildfire on Saturday evening
Rainfall across England was 20 per cent less than the long-term average for June, which was also the hottest on record for the country, with two heatwaves driving unusually high demand for water, the Environment Agency has said.
Drought was declared in East and West Midlands on Tuesday, with the region joining swathes of northern England in drought status.
Yorkshire Water became the first major water company to bring in a hosepipe ban which came into effect last Friday.
South East Water has announced a hosepipe ban in Kent and Sussex from tomorrow, and Thames Water is bringing in a ban from next Tuesday for customers in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, most of Wiltshire and some parts of Berkshire.
