Updated: Yellow warning of thunderstorm affecting South West England

Met Office sent this bulletin at 26-08-2026 10:00 AM BST
 
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Yellow warning for South West England
Thunderstorm
Between 06:00 (UTC+1) on Thu 27 Aug 2026 and 22:00 (UTC+1) on Thu 27 Aug 2026

Headline

Thunderstorms and heavy rain may lead to some disruption

What to expect

  • Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services
  • Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
  • Some communities might become cut off if roads flood
  • Flooding of homes and businesses could happen quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds
  • Power cuts might occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost

What should I do?

Updated: 09:57 (UTC+1) on Wed 26 Aug 2026

Further Details

A broad band of thunderstorms and heavy rain will move north across England and Wales, perhaps becoming slow moving in the afternoon and evening. Accumulations of 20-30 mm in three hours can be expected fairly widely and up to 50 mm in a 12 hour period can be expected in places. There is a small chance that some places may see more than 50 mm in three hours and more than 75 mm through 12 hours, especially over east facing high ground. Lightning and hail of 1-2 cm will also be hazards and, in a very few places, strong gusts may also present a hazard, these most likely in the south of England early on Thursday morning.

View full warning details and map view

Reason for update

Warning extending further NW and to cover all of Wales while removing from parts of the east of England. Matrix position changed to Low likelihood of Medium impacts.

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
  • Suffolk

London & South East England

  • Buckinghamshire
  • Milton Keynes
  • Oxfordshire

North West England

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

South West England

  • Bristol
  • Gloucestershire
  • North Somerset
  • South Gloucestershire
  • Swindon
  • Wiltshire

Wales

  • Blaenau Gwent
  • Bridgend
  • Caerphilly
  • Cardiff
  • Carmarthenshire
  • Ceredigion
  • Conwy
  • Denbighshire
  • Flintshire
  • Gwynedd
  • Isle of Anglesey
  • Merthyr Tydfil
  • Monmouthshire
  • Neath Port Talbot
  • Newport
  • Pembrokeshire
  • 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
  • North Lincolnshire
  • North Yorkshire
  • South Yorkshire
  • West Yorkshire
  • York