NORTH Hampshire is set to experience “lightning strikes, hail and strong winds” this week following a warm spell of weather.
The Met Office originally issued weather warnings for thunderstorms between Wednesday evening (June 15) from 6pm to Friday morning (June 17) at 6am.
The warning has now been altered and a second thunderstorms alert has been issued.
Two separate thunderstorm warnings are now in place – the first between 6pm on Wednesday, June 16 and 11.59pm on Thursday, June 17 and a second alert in place for 9am on Friday, June 18 and 9am on Saturday, June 19.
There's a band of cloud and rain moving southeastwards this afternoon. Ahead of this it will be #hot and #sunny ☀️ with fresher and showery conditions behind 🌦️ pic.twitter.com/gheL1yEaue
— Met Office (@metoffice) June 16, 2021
Stephen Dixon, a Met Office spokesman, said: “Overnight our weather warnings will come into force, meaning some areas will see intense thunderstorms and torrential rain.
“Parts of south-western England could see up to 30-40mm of rain falling in just a few hours on Thursday, with the warning remaining in place until midnight for large swathes of England.”
Another set of thunderstorms will then move in from Friday morning, Mr Dixon said, with “intense” showers leading to as much as 60mm of rain falling over 12 hours in the worst affected areas.
Some places are likely to see thunderstorms later Wednesday through to Friday with the potential for travel disruption and flooding.
There is a small chance that homes, and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail and strong winds.
Train and bus services could be affected with cancelations and delays where lighting and flooding occurs.
Spray and sudden flooding could also lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures, there is also a small chance that some communities could be cut off by flooded roads.
The Met Office state there is a “small chance” that fast flowing or deep floodwater could cause danger to life and there is a “slight chance” that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.
England’s much-anticipated Euro 2020 clash with Scotland at Wembley Stadium on Friday evening could be hit with bands of “heavy thundery showers”, forecasters say.
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