Yellow thunderstorm warnings across UK as heavy rain to cause flooding and travel chaos

The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for several UK regions as heavy rain is set to sweep across the country following days of high temperatures.

On Tuesday (20 June) morning several regions will see disruption to transport due to the unsettled weather, which will carry on into the afternoon, with the forecaster warning that spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions, and some road closures.

People are being warned to brace for travel disruption with some public transport services expected to be affected due to flooding or lightning strikes, as up to 40mm of rain is forecast to fall in two hours in some areas.

The Met Office said: “An area of heavy rain and thunderstorms will move northeastwards during Tuesday morning. This will bring 10-20 mm in 1 hour to many places within the warning area but a smaller corridor of torrential rain giving 30-40 mm in 1-2 hours in places accompanied by frequent lightning and gusty winds."

It added: “During Tuesday afternoon thunderstorms are expected to break out in places. These may bring some torrential downpours with 30-40 mm of rain possible in an hour in one or two places as well as the risk of frequent lightning.”

The forecaster said there is a risk of hail of around 2-3 cm diameter but many locations will “miss these altogether or see only small amounts of rain.”

It said the thunderstorms will “ease from the south during the rest of the afternoon.”

For Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, London and South East England, West Midlands, East of England, the yellow thunderstorm alert is in place from 11am until 6pm on Tuesday.

The alert for South West England is in place from 12pm to 8pm on Tuesday while in Northern Ireland and the Highlands and Eilean Siar the alert is in place from 10:30am until 8pm.

The Met Office said that the “showers will clear through the evening to leave a mostly dry night with a little patchy mist or fog in place” and Wednesday (21 June) will be a “drier day for most with plenty of warm sunny spells.”

It added that a “scattering of showers” may develop in the afternoon and it will feel “humid for many”.

Listed are the regions and locations that have been issued a yellow thunderstorm warning.

East Midlands

• Derby
• Derbyshire
• Leicester
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Northamptonshire
• Nottingham
• Nottinghamshire
• Rutland

East of England

• Bedford
• Cambridgeshire
• Central Bedfordshire
• Essex
• Hertfordshire
• Luton
• Norfolk
• Peterborough
• Suffolk

London & South East England

• Bracknell Forest
• Brighton and Hove
• Buckinghamshire
• East Sussex
• Greater London
• Hampshire
• Isle of Wight
• Kent
• Medway
• Milton Keynes
• Oxfordshire
• Portsmouth
• Reading
• Slough
• Southampton
• Surrey
• West Berkshire
• West Sussex
• Windsor and Maidenhead
• Wokingham

South West England

• Bath and North East Somerset
• Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole
• Bristol
• Devon
• Dorset
• Gloucestershire
• North Somerset
• Somerset
• South Gloucestershire
• Swindon
• Wiltshire

Wales

• Caerphilly
• Cardiff
• Monmouthshire
• Newport
• Powys
• Torfaen

West Midlands

• Herefordshire
• Shropshire
• Staffordshire
• Warwickshire
• West Midlands Conurbation
• Worcestershire

Highlands & Eilean Siar

• Highland

Northern Ireland

• County Antrim
• County Armagh
• County Down
• County Fermanagh
• County Londonderry
• County Tyrone