Huge electrical storm sweeps UK overnight - as lightning strikes care home and commuters delayed by power cuts
2 May 2024, 09:25 | Updated: 2 May 2024, 15:11
Send us your videos of the thunderstorm at online@lbc.co.uk
Huge storms swept large parts of the UK on Wednesday night, waking up thousands of people in the early hours of the morning and sparking travel disruption.
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Brits have shared footage online of the spectacular display of lightning over London last night, with bright flashes lighting up the sky and waking people up at 4am.
Commuters have reported travel delays on Thursday morning following power cuts caused by the storms.
National Rail listed a travel delay between Westbury and Castle Cary, warning that services could be diverted until 9am.
It read: “Lightning damaging the electricity supply between Westbury and Castle Cary means some lines are blocked.
“As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed or diverted.”
Minor delays have also been reported on South Western and Great Western railways.
West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service reported being called out in the middle of the night after a lightning strike damaged the roof on a residential care home in Elmer at 1:44am.
An image shared by the fire service shows the roof of the care home crumbled with bricks scattered across the floor.
Read more: Exact date Brits' wind and rain misery to end, as sunshine and warm weather returns after cold snap
Warning of thunderstorms after thousands of lightning strikes across the UK
They also reported a lightning strike at a university building in Chichester at 2:24am, damaging the roof and electrics in the building and forcing students to be relocated while the damage was assessed.
Dozens of social media users complained of being woken up by the resounding thunderclaps and bright flashes in the early hours of the morning.
Many reported having never seen so many strikes of lightning in such a short space of time.
One video shared by Chris Antoniou on X in East Grinstead, West Sussex shows 7 strikes of lightning in just 16 seconds as rain lashes down on the street.
Lightning in East Grinstead, West Sussex
One social media user wrote on X: “I’ve never seen thunder and lightning happen this frequently EVER unless it’s a movie.”
Another wrote: “Crazy lightning tonight near Haywards Heath, West Sussex. Not seen this much in years.”
It comes after the Met Office issued two yellow weather warnings on Wednesday for thunderstorms across large parts of the southeast and southwest of England and southern Wales.
However, the stormy weather is expected to subside later on Thursday and could develop into the warmest day of the year so far, the Met Office has said.
Video: X/rickyboleto
Thunderstorms swept parts of the UK
Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said: “After a night of storms, the rain will ease in the south of England for a while tomorrow. We could see the skies brightening up in a few places and it will be another warm day. Parts of the South East could even get to 24 degrees and beat today’s temperatures.
“But as the skies brighten and temperatures increase, this could spark a few more thundery showers in the afternoon, so it is likely to still be a bit unsettled and the forecast will be changeable over the next few days.”
Moving towards the Bank Holiday weekend, Mr Petagna said the forecast looked like a “very mixed picture”.
Swathes of the country are expected to experience some rain but temperatures are generally expected to stay warm in the mid to late teens.
