Overview
- The Met Office has two yellow thunderstorm warnings in force for large parts of England and all of Wales, with one covering London and the South East from 2am–8am and a wider warning from 5am–10pm on Thursday.
- Emergency services are responding to reported significant flooding in Birmingham’s Perry Barr area after a flood warning for rising river levels and the Environment Agency has issued 22 flooding alerts in the Midlands and South East.
- Forecasters say storms may produce intense short bursts of rain, with local rates of 20–30mm in an hour and some areas receiving 50–75mm or more over 12 hours, plus lightning, hail and strong gusts.
- The Met Office advises people at risk to prepare a flood plan and emergency kit, check road and public-transport conditions, avoid driving through floodwater, and seek enclosed shelter if thunder is heard.
- The warnings follow an unusually hot, dry summer that left soils hard and prone to runoff, and forecasters expect further heavy, thundery showers through the bank holiday weekend that could cause more disruption.