Weather: 14 hours of storms to batter UK ahead of weekend, Met Office warns
3 August 2021, 14:02 | Updated: 3 August 2021, 14:17
The Met Office has issued a weather warning for 14 hours of thunderstorms in the UK later this week, with potential flooding and lightning strikes.
The yellow weather warning has been issued for parts of central and northern England on Friday, and most of Ireland.
The alert is in place from 10am on Friday and storms could cause disruption until as late as midnight, the Met Office has warned.
Localised surface water in parts of Birmingham and north to Glasgow, and west over Belfast and Derry, are also possible due to "slow moving thundery downpours".
The Met Office said there is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater.
Flash floods across London cause travel chaos
"Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures," the forecasters added.
The weather warning comes after flash flooding saw parts of London under water in recent weeks.
Hospitals were forced to close, Tube stations flooded and travel was disrupted across parts of central London.
Read more: Flash flooding sparks disruption across London amid torrential downpours
Read more: Storm Evert to bring 'unseasonably strong winds and heavy rain' across south of UK
Gazebo in Wales rocks under force of winds from Storm Evert
Storm Evert - the UK's latest named storm - swept across southern parts of England and Wales last week, bringing gusty winds and some persistent rain - with some festivals and campsites forced to close.
Parts of London recorded more than double the average rainfall they would expect in July, despite it being the UK's joint fifth warmest July on record.
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Read more: Covid-19: Amber travel watchlist idea scrapped by government
The Met Office even issued its first ever "amber extreme heat warning" on July 19, urging people to be careful in the higher temperatures.
Scotland and Northern Ireland recorded their third warmest July, in a month where Northern Ireland also broke its all-time high temperature record, exceeding 31C multiple times.
