Fresh severe weather warnings as UK set for 54 hours of misery

21 May 2024 , 09:41

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Heavy rain has been forecast by the Met Office (Image: James Linsell Clark / SWNS)

A number of weather warnings for heavy rain have been extended into England as the Met Office warns some communities may be cut off.

Yellow thunderstorm warnings are in place today for Northern Ireland, as well as the South West and South East of England. Another one, for rain, covers huge swathes of the country from London and the East of England, extending across to the Midlands and as far north as Newcastle.

Similar warnings are in place, for rain, for England and Scotland tomorrow and Thursday as millions of people are expected to be affected. Today's yellow alert reads: "An area of rain is expected to develop across eastern and central England and then move northwestwards to affect northern England and north Wales during Wednesday afternoon.

The warnings in place for tomorrow (Met Office)

"The area of rain could then become slow moving, heavy and persistent, especially over north facing hills, before clearing during Thursday morning. There is a lot of uncertainty over exactly where the heaviest rain will occur and this warning is likely to be updated.

"Many places will see 30-40 mm of rain, while a few areas may receive 60-80 mm. There is also a small chance a few upland areas could see much higher totals, in the order of 100-150 mm."

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The thunderstorm warnings say there may be sudden flooding on main roads which could cause cancelations to trains and bus routes. There is a chance of power cuts thanks to lightning strikes. Today's update has extended the warning to Wales and other parts of west and south west England.

The thunder warning reads: "Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop during the afternoon across parts of southwest England, Wales and the West Midlands before slowly dying out during the evening. Many places will miss the worst, but where they do develop, some slow-moving and intense downpours are possible, giving accumulations of 20-30 mm in around 1 hour, and a lower likelihood of 40-50 mm in 2-3 hours in a few locations. Frequent lightning strikes and hail are also possible."

Today's warnings are in place from noon to 9pm, tomorrow's is from midnight to 6am in England and 12pm to 6pm in Scotland while Thursday's are also from midnight to 6am.

Areas affected by weather warnings

Thunder storms

Northern Ireland

• County Antrim

• County Armagh

• County Down

• County Fermanagh

• County Londonderry

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• County Tyrone

South West England

• Bath and North East Somerset

• Bristol

• Cornwall

• Devon

• Dorset

• Gloucestershire

• North Somerset

• Plymouth

• Somerset

• South Gloucestershire

• Torbay

• Wiltshire

Wales

• Blaenau Gwent

• Bridgend

• Caerphilly

• Cardiff

• Carmarthenshire

• Ceredigion

• Conwy

• Denbighshire

• Gwynedd

• Merthyr Tydfil

• Monmouthshire

• Neath Port Talbot

• Newport

• Pembrokeshire

• Powys

• Rhondda Cynon Taf

• Swansea

• Torfaen

• Vale of Glamorgan

• Wrexham

West Midlands

• Herefordshire

• Shropshire

East of England

• Bedford

• Cambridgeshire

• Central Bedfordshire

• Essex

• Hertfordshire

• Luton

• Norfolk

• Southend-on-Sea

• Suffolk

• Thurrock

London & South East England

• Bracknell Forest

• Brighton and Hove

• Buckinghamshire

• East Sussex

• Greater London

• Hampshire

• Kent

• Medway

• Milton Keynes

• Oxfordshire

• Portsmouth

• Reading

• Slough

• Southampton

• Surrey

• West Berkshire

• West Sussex

• Windsor and Maidenhead

• Wokingham

Rain

East Midlands

• Derby

• Derbyshire

• Leicester

• Leicestershire

• Lincolnshire

• Northamptonshire

• Nottingham

• Nottinghamshire

• Rutland

East of England

• Bedford

• Cambridgeshire

• Central Bedfordshire

• Norfolk

• Peterborough

London & South East England

• Milton Keynes

North East England

• Darlington

• Durham

• Gateshead

• Hartlepool

• Middlesbrough

• Newcastle upon Tyne

• North Tyneside

• Northumberland

• Redcar and Cleveland

• South Tyneside

• Stockton-on-Tees

• Sunderland

North West England

• Blackburn with Darwen

• Blackpool

• Cheshire East

• Cheshire West and Chester

• Cumbria

• Greater Manchester

• Halton

• Lancashire

• Merseyside

• Warrington

Wales

• Ceredigion

• Conwy

• Denbighshire

• Flintshire

• Gwynedd

• Isle of Anglesey

• Powys

• Wrexham

West Midlands

• Shropshire

• Staffordshire

• Stoke-on-Trent

• Telford and Wrekin

• Warwickshire

• West Midlands Conurbation

• Worcestershire

Yorkshire & Humber

• East Riding of Yorkshire

• Kingston upon Hull

• North East Lincolnshire

• North Lincolnshire

• North Yorkshire

• South Yorkshire

• West Yorkshire

• York

Central, Tayside & Fife

• Angus

• Clackmannanshire

• Dundee

• Falkirk

• Fife

• Perth and Kinross

• Stirling

Grampian

• Aberdeen

• Aberdeenshire

• Moray

Highlands & Eilean Siar

• Highland

SW Scotland, Lothian Borders

• Dumfries and Galloway

• East Lothian

• Edinburgh

• Midlothian Council

• Scottish Borders

• West Lothian

Strathclyde

• Argyll and Bute

• East Ayrshire

• East Renfrewshire

• Glasgow

• North Ayrshire

• North Lanarkshire

• South Ayrshire

• South Lanarkshire

Antony Clements-Thrower