UK weather chaos

Heatwave gives way to thunderstorms and floods in UK

Almost a month of rain falls in a day in parts of UK while other areas remain hot and sticky

the Guardian

23 July, 2013

After weeks of clear blue skies, thunderstorms and driving rain led to flooding, power cuts, structural damage to buildings and travel disruption on Tuesday.

Almost a month of rain fell in some parts of the UK and forecasters are warning that more torrential rain could be on the way on Wednesday in some areas.

While the rain fell, it remained hot and sticky in many places, causing even greater discomfort for travellers delayed on roads, rail and the London underground.

The storms followed the hottest day of the year, on Monday, when temperatures peaked at 33.4C (92F) in west London and almost touched 30C in Cardiff.

Storms rolled in across the UK, dropping 56.4mm (2in) of rain in Worcestershire between midnight and noon on Tuesday. The average monthly rainfall for the area is 61mm.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for heavy rainfall that covered all of mainland Britain save for the western tips. It later upgraded the alert to amber, the second highest level, for much of northern England and the east Midlands.

Train passengers in Manchester bore the brunt of the problems after track signals were damaged by a lightning strike, stranding some trains at Manchester Piccadilly station. Rail signals were also hit by lightning in east England, the West Midlands and Bristol, while in Kent fallen electricity cables and flooding on the lines led to cancellations and delays. Trains in north-east England and east Scotland were also delayed.

Motorists faced problems because of flooding on motorways in Bristol, the West Midlands and Manchester. Surface water caused problems in Birmingham city centre and on main roads leading to the city's airport. Thousands of homes were briefly left without power in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Bath and Essex.

Fire crews in some parts of the UK were busy with fires caused by lightning strikes, helping rescue drivers stranded in vehicles and pumping water from homes.

There seemed to have been few injuries but a woman from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was taken to hospital after a ceiling in her home collapsed.

A lightning strike was blamed for damaging a church tower in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester; it sent debris crashing through the roof and into a school playground, leaving a gaping hole above the pews. Ian Ashworth, the church warden, described the incident as "like a scene from the second world war".

In Lincolnshire 50 firefighters attended a blaze at a farm in Stainfield where lightning was believed to have ignited gas containers and set alight 400 hay bales.

Off the Cornish coast 15 people, including two children, were rescued after being swept out by a "flash" rip tide. The RNLI said body boarders and swimmers were caught out at low tide off Perranporth on the north coast.

By Tuesday evening the Environment Agency had in place 11 flood alerts, signalling the possibility of flooding. It also published two flood warnings, where flooding was expected, for the Somerset coast, where high spring tides, coupled with strong winds from the west, looked likely to cause problems.

More challenging weather was reported to be on the way. The Met Office issued another yellow warning for Wednesday covering the eastern and northern parts of England and most of Scotland.

Andy Page, chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: "The UK has seen a particularly dry warm spell of late, but this week will see a big change for many. Along with significant rainfall totals we could also see large hail from these widespread and energetic storms. The unsettled conditions are set to remain through much of this week."

While some areas were given a soaking, others stayed dry for much of the day. Page said such a scenario was perfectly normal when violent thunderstorms were in the air. "Not everywhere will catch the heaviest of the storms, and some places may well escape altogether."

Lovers of the heat should not be too disheartened. There is likely to be more rain over the next few days but the temperatures are due to climb back towards the high 20s.