UK weather forecast: ‘Danger to Life’ MEGASTORM to spark 2-DAY lightning BLITZ on Britain
Huge amounts of heat locked into the atmosphere after days of warm temperatures and humidity will erupt releasing energy in amounts similar to the Hiroshima explosion. Powerful downpours driven by fierce winds threaten widespread road closures, travel mayhem and power cuts from Thursday into the weekend. A government 'danger to life’ caution has been issued ahead of the assault which is forecast to hit just after morning rush hour amid warnings to ‘stay indoors’ during lightning strikes. Households are on standby for intense downpours to dump inches of rain in minutes leading to ‘sudden flooding’ of homes and businesses. Storms will sweep in from France and Belgium while rocketing temperatures and tropical humidity in the UK ramp up volatile conditions, experts say. Britons face a repeat of Tuesday’s Biblical deluge which sparked crippling floods as more than 60,000 lighting strikes scourged the skies.
Southern England will bear the brunt of the monsoon weather tomorrow before the entire country becomes the target on Friday. Met Office rain warnings are in place across the East Midlands; eastern England; London and the Southeast; south-west England; Wales and the West Midlands from Thursday mid-morning. Spokesman Grahame Madge said: “A belt of thundery rain will come in from France and Belgium on Thursday just after rush hour before moving across the southern half of the country through the day. “We expect heavy downpours and thundery outbreaks which could be similar to those we saw at the start of the working week. “Friday will be a similar day with quite a lot of intense, thundery downpours which we expect to be more widespread than Thursday’s.
GETTY•NETWEATHER UK weather forecast: UK facing another weekend of thunder and lightning as storms batter Europe
“This period of thundery activity is due in part to warmth over the past week which has put a lot of energy into the atmosphere. “We have also had high levels of humidity, both of these ingredients are required to set off thunderstorms.” Violent atmospheric conditions are likely to hold out through the weekend and into next week, he warned. “Thundery activity on Saturday will be largely confined to the north although the southeast could see further rainfall, again this could be intense in parts,” he said. “Sunday is looking better and it could be brighter at times after low cloud burns off. “However there is chance of more intense showers again on Monday which will work their way into western Britain.”
METEOX Weather forecasts for Europe show thunder and lightning will continue to strike the continent
Huge amounts of energy, measured by meteorologists as Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE), have been poured into the atmosphere through days of warm weather and humid conditions. Weather models show Thursday’s storm holding a maximum energy of 2,377 joules/ kg of air which spread over an area of around 100 km2 would initially release around 2.67 Tera Joules (TJ) of energy. The energy thrown out over several hours, in contrast to an explosion when it is released all at once, could amount to more than the 67TJ unleashed by the Hiroshima bomb. The Met Office has issued a near 12-hour torrential rain warning which comes into effect at 11am tomorrow. Parts of the country could see a month’s worth fall in just a matter of hours sparking a raft of Environment Agency flood warnings. Met Office chief forecaster Andy Page said severe weather conditions threaten widespread disruption until midnight.
UK weather in pictures: Dramatic lightning bolts strike Britain Sun, May 27, 2018 Thousands of bolts of lightning lit up Britain last night in a spectacular thunderstorm. Play slideshow Jan Sedlacek / SWNS.com 1 of 13 Bolts of lightning illuminate the skies over Worcestershire
He said: “Thunderstorms are likely to affect southern parts of the UK from late Thursday morning through the rest of the day. “Flooding of homes and businesses could happen quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds. “Fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible, causing a danger to life, spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures and where flooding or lightning strikes occur. “Power cuts might occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost, some communities might become cut off if roads flood "There is the potential for 30 to 40 mm [1.5 ins] of rain to fall in an hour and perhaps as much as 60 to 80 mm [3.1 ins] in two to three hours. “Frequent lightning and large hail are possible.” James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said nowhere is safe from outbreaks of thunder and lightning over the coming days. He said: “Thunderstorms and where they will land is particularly hard to predict, but our forecasts show a concentration of some potentially notable thunderstorms in parts of central England, northern England, and parts of Wales over the next several days.
METEOCIEL UK weather forecast: Clouds are expected to cover the UK from tomorrow evening
“It is plausible some flash flooding could occur in the worst hit areas.” The Environment Agency has issued more than 30 flood alerts across southern and central Britain as rivers levels rise. A spokesman said: “Flooding is possible from surface water in parts of central and south England and Wales on Thursday, and for the west and south of England and Wales on Friday. “Flooding may also occur from small rivers in these areas. Properties could flood and some travel disruption is likely. “More localised surface water and river flooding is also possible today and on Saturday across England and Wales.
PA A couple run for cover and torrential rain and lightning strike near King's Cross, London