UK summer storms to be followed by 30C heat and sunny weather

Thunder storms, heavy rain and lightning are expected to give way to lasting sunshine as the UK recovers from a weekend of flooding and transport disruption.

The Environment Agency, over the last 24 hours, had put out a total of 28 emergency flood warnings – which have now been taken down.  The south-east of England was particularly affected, as it was left dealing with severe flooding – leaving people stranded in houses and vehicles as emergency services sought to control the damage. Some private property was also left damaged from lightning strikes.

Authorities did pre-warn the public of the risk of flooding over the weekend, with the Environment Agency warning of thunderstorms bringing an increased risk of flooding across England.

Train services were also disrupted, as flooding near Billericay led to continued cancellations. Hospital services in Southend were also affected, as Southend University hospital’s accident and emergency department was temporarily closed due to flooding.

Twenty-three flood alerts still remain in place, the majority contained in the south-east, alongside severe flood warnings in the north-east and East Anglia.

Weather experts have confirmed however that the worst is behind us, as hot spells and sunny weather is expected to follow into the week. The Met Office have also revoked its severe weather warnings from over the weekend.

Temperatures are expected to reach 30C (86F), with the slight possibility that the heat could also cause more summer storms – primarily in the south.

Speaking to the Guardian, Laura Caldwell, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, said, “It is going to be warm, quite hot even, in places through the week. Pretty much everywhere across the UK will see above average temperatures, with peaks of 30C (86F) on Thursday and Friday.

“On Thursday there are hints there could be widespread thunderstorms, as we saw over the weekend, though it is hard to say whether they will be as intense.”

Photo source: Mooganic via Flickr

Further Reading:

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