UK weather warnings have been issued as the blazing heatwave is set to end with a bang in some parts of Britain as lightning storms and nearly a month’s worth of rain in one hour will hit today.
The Met Office have issued a yellow severe weather warning covering the whole of the Midlands and North of England as well as parts of the South, Wales and the Scottish Borders, as they warned three weeks’ worth of rain is likely to fall in an hour in worst hit places.
Beaches have been packed as most of Britain has baked in the longest heatwave for 22 years, with a top temperature of 32.5 (90.5F) recorded in West London on Monday and this is set to continue with temperatures today even possibly reaching the all time record ever seen in June which was 35.6C during the great drought of 1976.
Swindon has also seen temperatures reach the 30’s this week, however, today it may be caught in the downpour as the weather warning just touches the North areas of Swindon.
The Met Office warning for today says: “Disruption may include sudden localised flooding of transport routes, homes and businesses.”
Forecaster Grahame Madge said: “Quite a heavy belt of thundery showers will be moving eastwards and that behind it will pull in slightly cooler fresher air.
“Torrential downpours on Wednesday will affect some locations in the Midlands and North, with extensive thunderstorms, up to 40mm of rain in an hour and frequent lightning. This will obviously lead to disruption.”
Mr Madge said: “Temperatures are already high and could go higher, with a chance of 34C on Wednesday in the South.
“People should take care in the heat, drink plenty of water and avoid excessive exercise.
“The Glastonbury Festival looks like seeing 30C on Wednesday and the outside possibility of a thunderstorm, with light rain on Saturday.”
The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: “36C highs are shown on some computer models in the South on Wednesday, which would be a June record. The heat will feel like a sauna in the sun.”
MetDesk said: “We’re likely to see the hottest ever summer solstice.”
The forecast for later in the week does show cooler temperatures in the aftermath of the storm, with a fresher more Atlantic feel going into the weekend.
