Overview
- The Met Office issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for much of England and Wales for Saturday, producing heavy downpours that hit Reading, Leeds, Creamfields and other Bank Holiday events.
- Festival sites reported muddy campsites, cancelled or halted sets, short-term power and stage problems, and on-site travel delays that forced organisers to postpone some performances.
- Environment Agency flood alerts were raised for multiple areas because short, intense bursts of rain can cause fast surface runoff on the season’s hardened ground.
- A large sign collapsed at the Big Church Festival in West Sussex, killing a 41-year-old man and hospitalising others, and the Health and Safety Executive and Sussex Police have opened investigations.
- Forecasters say scattered showers and isolated thundery downpours may continue into Sunday but drier, brighter conditions are more likely by Monday.