Met Office issues ‘bad omen’ UK weather warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms

Heavy rain and thunderstorms are set to batter parts of the UK after the Met Office issued a weather warning said to be a ‘bad omen’.

Some parts of western England, including Cardiff, Bangor, Liverpool and Exeter will be hit by downpours, as will the whole of Wales.

A yellow weather alert is in place from 8am on Monday, lasting the entire day until 11.59pm – and is the second warning in a matter of days.

Up to 40mm of rainfall is expected in the space of just a few hours, forecasters say, as British summer just keeps getting better.

The Met Office warned there could be power cuts, flooding, damage to buildings, travel disruption and that driving conditions could be dangerous.

And according to traditional folklore, the weather experienced on St Swithin’s Day (July 15) will continue for the next 40 days.

If the superstition holds true, it means parts of the country could be in for a wet rest of the summer.

The proverb of St Swithin says: ‘St Swithin’s Day if thou dost rain, for forty days it will remain, St Swithin’s Day if thou be fair, for forty days will rain na mair.’

The Met Office says ‘torrential downpours’ are likely, with 15-20mm of rainfall forecast in less than an hour in some places – and 30-40mm within three hours in others.

This may be accompanied by lightning throughout the day, the forecaster added.

The heavy rain is expected to spread north across the affected area during the day.

Any hopes of summer weather seem a faint hope at the moment – and a visit to the beach is likely to be a sodden one.

It certainly won’t do anything to help lift the spirits of those in the affected parts of England after the Three Lions suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.

This probably isn’t the kind of ‘drowning your sorrows’ people quite had in mind.

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