Britain on Flood Alert as Heatwave led to Thunderstorms

July 21, 2016 2:57 PM | Skymet Weather Team

Approximately two inches of rain is likely to fall in parts of the country by tomorrow morning amidst warnings of severe downpours, lightning and hail.

The Met Office declared a near countrywide severe weather warning for rain tonight with a further alert for northern Scotland tomorrow morning.

Brize Norton, Oxfordshire witnessed its hottest day so far on Tuesday with temperature of 33.5 °C (92 °F).

Overnight temperatures failed to fall below 22 °C (72 °F) in parts of the country for the first time since 2006 with London temperature soaring upto 22.5 °C (72.5 °F)  this morning.

Today witnessed highs in the low 30°C yet again with Heathrow reaching 31.4 °C (88.5 °F), 30.3 °C (86.5°F) in Northolt, and 29.9 °C (85.5°F) in Worcestershire.

Severe showers hit Scotland and Northern England with around 35,000 lightning strikes recorded across the region by mid-afternoon.

Heavy downpours across Cumbria and the Scottish borders led to localised floods and traffic chaos. According to the Met Office, the south will hold on to the warmth through the weekend, however, escaping the worst of the rain with the north turning cooler from Monday.

Southern England will continue to burn in highs of 26°C (78.8°F) while in another places the mercury will float between 19°C (66°F) or 20°C (68°F).

Thursday is expected to bring some showers though not as heavy or frequent as on Wednesday. Friday will be damp again with thunderstorms in places but the sunshine is likely to continue.

During the weekend, while temperatures will stay in the high 20°C in the south, the north will be closer to normal.

Image Credit: metro.co.uK

 

 

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