Suffolk weather: Met Office issues yellow warnings for thunderstorms for next five days
Residents in Suffolk may be swapping their sunglasses for umbrellas as thunderstorm warnings have been extended into next week across much of the UK.
The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for most of the UK until Monday, August 17, and said there was a risk of impacts from heavy rain, flash flooding, lightning and hail.
Officials said the current hot weather creates ideal conditions for thunderstorms. Chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “Today warnings cover much of England, away from the east coast, Wales and parts of Scotland. The storms will be isolated but where they happen there will be frequent lightning, gusty winds and intense, heavy downpours with 30 to 40mm of rain possible in less than an hour and, in isolated spots, a small chance of 60 mm falling.
“With the continuing hot weather large swathes of the UK continue to be at risk from thunderstorms and potentially the impacts from heavy rain, into the early part of next week.”
Parts of central Scotland saw almost seven hours of continuous thunderstorms overnight. The impacts from heavy, intense rainfall have been felt in many places, including Fife in Scotland, where an Amber warning was in place and a major incident was declared. Meanwhile, earlier this week homes and businesses were flooded in mid and west Wales.
Neil Davies, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Isolated thunderstorms could bring sudden surface water and river flooding to parts of England today, which may lead to flooded properties and severe travel disruption in some areas. Further surface water and river flooding is also a possibility from Thursday to Sunday.
“Environment Agency teams are working hard alongside local authorities to reduce the risk of flooding and keep communities safe, clearing grills and weed screens in areas which may be affected by heavy showers, and are ready to respond and support where needed.
"We urge people to check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation at Gov.uk, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or follow @EnvAgency on Twitter for the latest flood updates.”
The hot weather is set to continue towards the end of the week, with heatwave conditions persisting for many in the southern half of the UK. Away from the thunderstorms it will be a mainly dry and sunny.
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