UK weather tomorrow: Thunderstorms, power cuts & 50mph gales kick off Bank Holiday as Met Office issues weather warnings
THE UK will be rocked by thunderstorms and 50mph gales, as the Bank Holiday weekend also kicks off with power cuts, warns the Met Office.
Localised flooding and travel disruption are expected, with a yellow warning for heavy rain covering most of southern England and parts of south Wales.
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Meteorologist Alex Burkill said that “persistent rain” had already hit affected areas, with 44mm falling on St Columb in Cornwall in the six hours up to 2pm on Thursday.
He added: “There will be some localised flooding perhaps, but also really quite treacherous driving conditions.”
A video shared on Twitter on Thursday showed a cyclist riding up a flooded Beaumont Road in Plymouth, Devon.
On Friday, another yellow weather warning for heavy showers and thunderstorms has been put in place for 11am to 8pm, covering a slightly larger area of south Wales and southern England.
Mr Burkill said: “Tomorrow we have the risk of some really heavy torrential downpours, with some large hail and lightning and thunder mixed in too.
“But it’s during the intense downpours that we’re quite likely to see some surface water flooding in a few places and again really quite difficult driving conditions.
“Obviously, it’s the Friday before the bank holiday weekend, so lots of people will be planning to take to the roads and so they do need to be aware that even if they’re enjoying sunny spells at one moment a hefty shower could come along very quickly and make conditions very, very difficult.”
He said many areas could see wind gusts of 30 to 40mph, particularly on the eastern and northeastern coast of England – although these are not covered by a warning as they will not have the heavy intense downpours expected further south.
CHILLY WEATHER
A ‘polar plunge’ is set to bring -1C frost to Britain in what could be the coldest August Bank Holiday in 40 years.
Brits will have to brave gusts of up to 50mph and thunderstorms as the 500 mile-wide ‘plunge’ sweeps the country.
Daytime temperatures could hover around just 10C – more than 5C below the usual average for late August.
The turbulent weather could make this the coldest August Bank Holiday in nearly 40 years.
The last time the lowest daily maximum temperature hit 10C on a summer bank holiday was on August 1979 when the Fair Isles, Shetland reached 10.1C.
And while the past few bank holidays have been scorchers, a cold snap in 2014 saw the lowest nighttime temperature of -2.1C in 2014.
Forecasters predict another frost this weekend, with parts of Scotland and northern England braced for -1C.
Chilly air from the north of the UK will sweep in, bringing the plunging temperatures and making Britain colder than Iceland.
While Iceland will see nighttime temperatures of 8C – 9C this weekend, the UK will see the mercury plummet to -1C.
Daytime temperatures could be as low as 10C but may spike to 18C across southern counties.
Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: “After low pressure with rain and wind to end the week, it will be cooler for the Bank Holiday weekend.”
The August Bank Holiday Friday is normally one of the busiest leisure travel days of the year.
But Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze warned: “Bank Holiday weekend frost is expected in Scotland and possible in England’s North, which is more bad news for the many families on staycation.”
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More gale-force gusts between 40 to 50mph will follow hot on the heels of Storms Ellen and Francis – but winds will later ease to leave a mainly cool and dry long weekend.
The Met Office forecast 11-12C highs tomorrow in Scotland’s central Highlands around Braemar, Aberdeenshire.
A MetDesk spokesperson added: “Summer feels a long way away, just weeks after we were in the grip of record-breaking heat.”