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As it happenedended
6 years ago

UK weather: Met Office warns torrential downpours and thunderstorms could lead to flooding as holiday travel chaos continues - as it happened

Follow the latest updates as thousands of holidaymakers suffer travel disruption due to extreme weather

Samuel Osborne
Saturday 28 July 2018 17:06 EDT
39Comments
UK weather: The latest Met Office forecast

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Heavy thunderstorms and torrential rain marked the end of the UK heatwave, with the Met Office warning they could cause danger to life, sudden flooding and power cuts.

Thursday saw the highest temperature recorded in the UK since 2015, with the mercury in Faversham hitting 35.3C (95.5F).

While forecasts earlier in the week suggested Friday could see the record for the hottest July day broken, the hottest it got was 34.7C at Tibenham Airfield in Norfolk.

Yellow warnings were in place for most of England into the early hours of Saturday, and in north-east Scotland until 2pm.

Torrential downpours were forecast, with as much as 30mm of rainfall in one hour and 60mm in three hours, while large hail, frequent lightning and strong, gusty winds will be additional hazards.

Parts of Northern Ireland were hit with more than a month's worth of rainfall in just a few hours on Saturday afternoon, with Belfast International Airport recording 88.2mm of rain. The average for the month of July is 81.2mm.

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While some will have welcomed the rain and the cooler temperatures, those keen to catch a glimpse of the blood moon, the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century, will have been disappointed.

The cloud cover meant the rare celestial event was not visible to many from Hampshire and Wiltshire in the south and south west, to Hull in east Yorkshire, Liverpool in the north west and Dublin in Ireland.

Meanwhile, police forces have been called following concerns for people’s welfare at rivers and a lake.

Thames Valley Police said a man’s body was recovered from the Jubilee River in Slough, adding that his death is not being treated as suspicious.

Warwickshire Police said emergency services personnel searching for a 17-year-old boy who disappeared after getting into difficulty in a quarry lake in Bishops Itchington, near Leamington Spa, have recovered a body.

Essex Police said the body of a teenager who went missing near Clacton Pier on Thursday evening has been found.

Bedfordshire are also looking for a man who got into difficulties in the river Great Ouse on Friday afternoon.

Lightning flashes over Humber estuary near Hull as clouds obscure a view of the blood moon, the longest lunar eclipse of the century which sees Earth’s natural satellite turn blood red
Lightning flashes over Humber estuary near Hull as clouds obscure a view of the blood moon, the longest lunar eclipse of the century which sees Earth’s natural satellite turn blood red (Danny Lawson/PA)

Elsewhere, cross-Channel rail operator Eurotunnel cancelled thousands of tickets after “extreme temperatures” caused major disruption to services.

On UK trains, passengers were urged to avoid travelling on London North Eastern Railway (LNER) on Friday after lightning damaged the signalling system.

Train firm Northern advised passengers not to travel in the Yorkshire area due to the same issue.

On the roads, motorists were warned of lightning, flash flooding and large hailstones.

A mix of toxic air, extreme highs, emissions from the continent and a lack of cloud cover caused a “high” air pollution alert to be issued for London.

Elsewhere, authorities said the heatwave was causing “winter conditions” in parts of the NHS, while many nurses were said to be dizzy and exhausted.

Additional reporting by agencies

6 years ago

Temperatures reached a peak of 34.7C on Friday - not quite enough to beat the hottest day of the year so far.

The high was recorded in Tibenham, Norfolk, while the lowest temperature in Britain was in Tyndrum, Perthshire, where 8.6C was recorded.

The sunniest place on Friday was Morecambe, in Lancashire, with 13.5 hours of sunshine, while Wainfleet, in Lincolnshire, was the wettest with 64.4mm of rain.

Thursday marked the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching a high of 35.1C.

Samuel Osborne28 July 2018 12:34
6 years ago

Despite the change in weather, the Met Office says UV levels will remain moderate to high on Saturday. 

Samuel Osborne28 July 2018 12:47
6 years ago

Elsewhere in the world, a viral photo of two lovers kissing in the rain led to the photographer being roughed up by colleagues and fired.

Samuel Osborne28 July 2018 13:58
6 years ago

The Met Office has issued an amber severe weather warning for parts of Northern Ireland.

It warns flooding to homes and businesses is likely and says floods and lightning strikes could lead to train and bus cancellations as well as power cuts.

Samuel Osborne28 July 2018 14:09
6 years ago

Those braving travel chaos have been warned against drinking too much, as passengers are being reminded they could end up in jail for drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Samuel Osborne28 July 2018 14:55
6 years ago

Over the last two hours, heavy rains and thunderstorms have brought 67mm of rain to Belfast Airport, the Met Office said.

Samuel Osborne28 July 2018 15:04
6 years ago

Thousands of holidaymakers suffered travel disruption as extreme weather and high passenger numbers caused cancelled flights and long delays for ferries and cross-Channel trains.

Eurotunnel warned its customers they faced a three-hour wait and 90-minute check-in time at Folkestone, advising people to take plenty of drinking water.

The cross-Channel rail operator blamed "recent severe weather conditions" for the delays, saying that its "shuttle capacity" is still recovering.

Samuel Osborne28 July 2018 15:25
6 years ago

Budget airline Ryanair said the knock-on effect of Friday night's thunderstorms, along with air traffic control staff shortages, was responsible for up to 14 cancelled flights out of Stansted Airport on Saturday.

A spokesman for the airport said no other airline had cancelled flights although there were more delays following the UK's extreme weather and thunderstorms in Europe.

He said long queues shown in pictures posted on social media on Saturday morning were caused by passengers who stayed overnight in the airport trying to re-book cancelled flights with airlines.

Luton Airport and Gatwick Airport also warned of delays and cancellations due to thunderstorms in Europe, advising passengers to contact their airline for travel information.

A Heathrow Airport spokeswoman said: "Due to adverse weather across the UK and Europe, some of today's flights may be subject to delays."

Samuel Osborne28 July 2018 15:39
6 years ago

There has also been heavy traffic around the Port of Dover as families headed for summer getaways on the Continent by ferry.

Passengers were told to expect long queues on the roads into the port, with a minimum two-hour wait to get through border checks.

P&O ferries advised its customers to take plenty of drinks, snacks and entertainment for the wait.

Samuel Osborne28 July 2018 15:52
6 years ago

A yellow weather warning for rain has been issued for western Scotland.

Samuel Osborne28 July 2018 16:12

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