Massive "hail burst" hits London as Met Office shares concerning weather update for rest of today

Eyewitness reports suggest there have been repeated “hail bursts” in the capital city today (March 13), after the Met Office forecast adverse weather throughout the day.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for today in 10 parts of the UK, including Yorkshire, Northumberland and Lancashire. Forecasters had suggested that showers of sleet or snow could hit these areas, and that hail was also likely.

It comes as temperatures across the country plummet, thanks in large part to ice-cold Arctic air blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “We have an Arctic air mass in place across the UK at the moment, compared to a much milder continental air mass last weekend. Last weekend, we had very mild southerly winds coming up from North Africa and Spain bringing those temperatures into the teens.

“On Monday, we saw cold fronts sink southwards across the UK, and that introduced colder, Arctic air. If anything, it was last weekend that was fairly unusual to see temperatures as high as 18 or 19 degrees Celsius.

“With climate change, we can expect higher temperatures earlier in the year becoming a bit more likely and shorter winters with less extreme, less cold conditions.”

According to people living in London, there have been at least two of these “hail bursts” so far this afternoon. The Met Office has forecast rain to continue hitting the city until at least 6pm today, meaning that more hail could well be on the way.