Which areas of the UK will be affected storms and flooding as Met Office issues yellow alert
The British summer started with a scorching June, only for July to be almost a total washout – and the weather is showing no signs of turning now August has come around.
In fact, the Met Office issued weather warnings for rain, wind and thunderstorms across much of the country on Wednesday.
The wet conditions look set to continue through the weekend, dampening the excitement for those hoping to plan summer barbecues and beach trips.
Where are weather warnings in place?
The Met Office has issued three separate yellow weather warnings for Wednesday.
A thunderstorm warning has been issued covering a large area of central England and Wales. “Within this area slow moving thunderstorms could lead to rainfall accumulations of 20-25mm within an hour. Some locations could see in excess of 40mm in a 2-3 hour period,” the Met Office said. The warning is in place from 9am until 8pm.
A wind warning is in place between 4am and 6pm across southern parts of England. The Met Office said: “Gusts are likely to reach 50mph in some English Channel coastal areas with 55 to 60mph possible in the most exposed locations in the far south-west and, perhaps, a little higher in the very most exposed parts of coastal southern England such as the Needles.”
There is a rain warning issued for an area of north-east England covering Leeds, York, Hull, Scarborough and Middlesbrough. This warning is in place between 11am and 8pm.
What is the latest weather forecast?
The Met Office is expecting a wet Wednesday and Thursday, before a few more sunny spells start to come in later in the week, when the heavy rain turns more to showers.
Met Office chief meteorologist, Dan Suri, said: “An unseasonably deep area of low pressure for the time of year will move into Ireland during the early hours of Wednesday then continue across Wales and England during Wednesday daytime.
“Heavy rain associated with this low will affect large parts of the UK on Wednesday, some of the heaviest rain occurring on Wednesday over central parts of England and Wales where some locations could see 40mm of rain in just a few hours from thundery downpours. This deep low will also bring high winds into the UK on Wednesday, especially the south. Gusts of up to 60mph are possible in the very far south-west early on Wednesday whilst further along the south coast the highest gusts will be during Wednesday daytime.
“Despite the centre of the low pressure crossing the UK, the highest wind speeds will be further south over northern France and the Channel Islands. The low will pull away eastwards from the UK during Wednesday evening and night, leaving a calmer day on Thursday though some heavy showers could persist in the east.”
The outlook for Friday to Sunday is “a mixture of sunshine and showers on Friday. Turning wetter and windier on Saturday. Further sunny spells and showers on Sunday. Feeling cool throughout”.
Looking ahead to the rest of August, the Met Office says there are “some early signals for at least a brief spell of something a little warmer and more settled to develop towards the end of next week, most likely for southern areas”.
“However, it remains that the greatest chance of seeing anything more widely settled would be through the second part of August, although this may be accompanied by an increasing risk of thundery showers. With unsettled conditions never too far away, it looks unlikely that we will see any prolonged or excessive heat, with the chance of heatwaves here in the UK being lower than some recent Augusts.”
