Updated: Yellow warning of thunderstorm affecting North West England

Met Office sent this bulletin at 30-07-2024 11:00 AM BST
 
⚠

Yellow warning for North West England
Thunderstorm
Between 00:00 (UTC+1) on Thu 1 Aug 2024 and 23:59 (UTC+1) on Thu 1 Aug 2024

Headline

Multiple rounds of heavy showers and thunderstorms are forecast on Thursday, and may lead to some disruption.

What to expect

  • Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
  • Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services
  • Power cuts might occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost
  • Flooding of homes and businesses could happen quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds
  • Fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible, causing a danger to life

What should I do?

Updated: 10:51 (UTC+1) on Tue 30 Jul 2024

Further Details

Whilst there is some uncertainty, thunderstorms may affect southeast England during the early hours of Thursday, perhaps also extending into parts of East Anglia. Where these occur, rain accumulations of 25-40 mm are possible in 1 hour, with a small risk of over 60mm in 2-3 hours, and accompanied by frequent lightning at times.

Elsewhere, an area of showery rain is likely to develop and move northeastwards across parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England. This will be heavy and perhaps thundery at times, persisting through Thursday morning before easing towards midday. Some areas could receive rain accumulations of 25-50 mm over the course of a few hours.

Scattered heavy showers and thunderstorms are then expected to develop through Thursday afternoon and evening across parts of central, southern and eastern England, and perhaps also south Wales. These have the potential to produce 50 mm or more in 1-2 hours, along with gusty winds, large hail, and the risk of surface water flooding.

What should I do?

Consider if your location is at risk of flash flooding. If so, consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit.

Prepare to protect your property and people from injury. Before gusty winds arrive, check to ensure moveable objects or temporary structures are well secured. Items include; bins, garden furniture, trampolines, tents, gazebos, sheds, and fences.

Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.

People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It’s easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.

If you find yourself outside and hear thunder, protect yourself by finding a safe enclosed shelter (such as a car). Do not shelter under or near trees, or other structures which may be struck by lightning. If you are on an elevated area move to lower ground.

Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.

View full warning details and map view

Reason for update

Warning start time brought forwards, area slightly expanded to cover more of north Wales and northern England, and likelihood updated from very low to low.

Regions and local authorities affected

East Midlands

  • Derby
  • Derbyshire
  • Leicester
  • Leicestershire
  • Lincolnshire
  • Northamptonshire
  • Nottingham
  • Nottinghamshire
  • Rutland

East of England

  • Bedford
  • Cambridgeshire
  • Central Bedfordshire
  • Essex
  • Hertfordshire
  • Luton
  • Norfolk
  • Peterborough
  • Southend-on-Sea
  • Suffolk
  • Thurrock

London & South East England

  • Bracknell Forest
  • Brighton and Hove
  • Buckinghamshire
  • East Sussex
  • Greater London
  • Hampshire
  • Isle of Wight
  • Kent
  • Medway
  • Milton Keynes
  • Oxfordshire
  • Portsmouth
  • Reading
  • Slough
  • Southampton
  • Surrey
  • West Berkshire
  • West Sussex
  • Windsor and Maidenhead
  • Wokingham

North East England

  • Darlington
  • Durham
  • Gateshead
  • Hartlepool
  • Middlesbrough
  • Newcastle upon Tyne
  • North Tyneside
  • Northumberland
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • South Tyneside
  • Stockton-on-Tees
  • Sunderland

North West England

  • Blackburn with Darwen
  • Blackpool
  • Cheshire East
  • Cheshire West and Chester
  • Cumbria
  • Greater Manchester
  • Halton
  • Lancashire
  • Merseyside
  • Warrington

South West England

  • Bath and North East Somerset
  • Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole
  • Bristol
  • Devon
  • Dorset
  • Gloucestershire
  • North Somerset
  • Somerset
  • South Gloucestershire
  • Swindon
  • Wiltshire

Wales

  • Blaenau Gwent
  • Bridgend
  • Caerphilly
  • Cardiff
  • Carmarthenshire
  • Ceredigion
  • Conwy
  • Denbighshire
  • Flintshire
  • Gwynedd
  • Merthyr Tydfil
  • Monmouthshire
  • Neath Port Talbot
  • Newport
  • Powys
  • Rhondda Cynon Taf
  • Swansea
  • Torfaen
  • Vale of Glamorgan
  • Wrexham

West Midlands

  • Herefordshire
  • Shropshire
  • Staffordshire
  • Stoke-on-Trent
  • Telford and Wrekin
  • Warwickshire
  • West Midlands Conurbation
  • Worcestershire

Yorkshire & Humber

  • East Riding of Yorkshire
  • Kingston upon Hull
  • North East Lincolnshire
  • North Lincolnshire
  • North Yorkshire
  • South Yorkshire
  • West Yorkshire
  • York