UK weather latest: Thunderstorms and heavy rain to hit southeast as heatwave continues
30mm of rain expected to fall in space of an hour as yellow warning for thunderstorms is extended across London, south of England and East Midlands
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Parts of the southeast are bracing for heavy downpours as the scorching heatwave ushers in stormy weather.
The Met Office has warned 30mm of rain could fall in the space of an hour as a yellow warning for thunderstorms is extended across London, the south of England and the east midlands.
While some parts may experience “heavy, intense” showers, temperatures will remain warm across the country, reaching the high 20s.
“If you see one of the heavy downpours, it’s going to be that really heavy rain that windscreen wipers find difficult to cope with,” a Met Office spokesperson told The Independent.
“There’s still plenty of dry weather around as well, so you may not see any thunder or lightning at all.”
Forecasters warned there was a small chance the heavy downpours could represent a flood risk, and warned affected areas to take precautions.
But while there has been a dip in temperatures this week, record-breaking highs could be seen in the east of the country from Monday or Tuesday.
“We’re looking at temperatures going into the low 30s again so we could be looking at isolated points reaching 32C or 33C,” a Met Office spokesperson said.
“The hottest temperature recorded of the year so far has been 33C so the southeast could potentially get up to those sorts of temperatures.”
However, parts of the west will stay cooler, with temperatures likely to remain in the mid-20s.
The latest hot spell comes after the Met Office said Britain could see a record-breaking summer if temperatures stay above average.
Conditions have been unusually dry, with the UK having just 47mm of rain so far, making it the driest start to summer in modern records, which date back to 1961.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments