UK Flood alert: Thunderstorm can lead to flooding, power cut and delay

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Some parts of Britain will enjoy 27C heat this week after huge thunderstorms hit overnight – with more on the way in the coming days which could cause flooding, transport delays and power cuts. The thunder and lightning hit parts of southern England through the night with Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire most affected, while there was also a dramatic super blood moon in the early hours of this morning.

The Met Office had warned some places could see up to 1.2in (30mm) of rain in less than an hour overnight, but things will brighten up for England and Wales today with warm sunshine after thundery showers clear.

It comes after several days of warm sunshine with the mercury hitting 23.5C (74.3F) on Saturday in London – just below the warmest day of 2022 so far which was May 6 when it got to 23.6C (74.5F) at Faversham in Kent.

The warm air from North Africa is set to bring above-average temperatures for May to most places in the UK this week, but the pleasant weather will be broken up with potentially heavy or thundery showers.

After a wet and cooler day yesterday, temperatures will get up to 23C in the South East today and could reach 27C (81F) tomorrow with similar highs in the mid-20Cs (mid-70Fs) likely for the rest of the week.

Some people will enjoy sunny spells but heavy showers are set to move across the whole of the UK, particularly in the North and West. These might be thundery at times in the South, central England and South West Scotland.

The Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said that the rise of warm air we have been expecting from the south will bring higher temperatures across the whole country over the next week. However, it looks like the effects from the Atlantic lows will prevent sustained high pressure building from the east.

Meanwhile skygazers in the UK were treated to a dramatic super blood moon in the early hours of yesterday. In this year’s only full lunar eclipse, the moon turned a deep coppery red as it drifted into the shadow of the Earth.

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