A MAMMOTH 60-hour long thunderstorm battering will roll into the UK today – as this weekend’s beautiful weather is replaced by rain and flash floods.
A yellow Met Office warning has been issued with intense downpours after a glorious 25C heat seen in parts yesterday.
Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge told The Sun Online that the stormy weather will arrive in the early hours of the morning today.
He said: “It will be just arriving in the far south west in the early hours and then through the day it comes in across western parts and then moves further north.
“Then that’s it set up for an unsettled spell this week where we could see some more of those [storms] as the week goes on.”
The rain won’t be bringing cold with it as temperatures are set to soar into the 20s bringing a humid feel to the weather.
Rising temperatures coupled with low pressure may create “massive cumulonimbus clouds” as a plume of “very warm air” washes in from Europe.
The storms are set to arrive today following dry and sunny spells over the first half of the weekend.
Issuing the yellow weather warning on its website, the Met Office said: “Thunderstorms may develop bringing torrential rain and lightning, with possible flooding and disruption to travel.”
It added that homes and businesses could be “flooded quickly”, with damage to some buildings from “floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds”.
There is also the danger of power cuts leaving many without electricity, as well as spray on the roads that could cause traffic chaos.
The yellow weather warnings are in place right from the very north coast of Scotland down to Land’s End.
We should expect deep flash floods, which could cause homes to flood and roads to close.
There is also a chance that hail could result in “rapidly changing, dangerous driving conditions”.
The Met Office warns communities could be cut off and there could even be a danger to life.
The warning is in place from midday today until midnight on Tuesday.
By Tuesday though, the yellow warning will move further south, leaving Scotland and Northern Ireland in the clear.
England and Wales will still be at risk of heavy thundery showers and flooding.
Helen Roberts, the Met Office’s Senior Meteorologist, told Sun Online: “There will certainly be flooding — lots of localised flooding, which means some villages could be dry while neighbouring villages are completely saturated in heavy downpours.
“That’s definitely going to be an issue.
“These conditions are especially dangerous for drivers who may be driving down a road at some speed in clear conditions and then all of a sudden they’re in a heavy downpour.
“At the moment we have a broad warning area covering pretty much all of England because there’s a lot of uncertainty about where will be worst affected.”
But once the storms clear, the UK is set for a hot week.
As the continent basks in highs of over 40C, we will feel the benefit with hot air coming westwards.
Next Wednesday and Thursday are set to be the hottest of the year so far — with the mercury tipping over the 30C mark.
After such a cool and wet start to summer, many places are set to see scorching weather through next week
Sara Thornton
Sara Thornton, director of digital weather company Weathertrending, told The Sun Online: “As the summer solstice arrives and the days begin to shorten again, still nobody in the UK has reached 30C yet.
“And that’s unusual by midsummer. But after such a cool and wet start to summer, many places are set to see scorching weather through next week.
“After a fine weekend for us, the real heat arrives behind a warm front by Monday.
“Across parts of Spain, Portugal and the western Mediterranean, near 40-degree temperatures will be brewing up; and some of this blistering heat looks like escaping northwards and wafting our way.
“As usual, its southern and eastern parts of the UK which look set to see the highest temperatures — reaching the low 30s in some places.”
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.
