UK Weather Alert: Tornado and Flash Floods to Hit Britain
The UK is bracing itself for a major storm that is expected to bring flash floods and, in some areas, a risk of freak tornadoes. According to a weather blog post issued by Netweather forecaster Nick Finnis, the country can expect "heavy showers and thunderstorms" particularly across central, southern, and eastern England. This forecast has been echoed by the Met Office, which has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for several regions.
The Met Office warning, which is in place from 9am to 9pm on Saturday, covers East Midlands, East of England, London, South East, and South West. The alert warns that "heavy showers and thunderstorms may lead to some disruption to transport and infrastructure". According to the Met Office, frequent heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected for much of Saturday, with 10-15 mm of rain potentially falling in less than an hour, and some areas seeing 30-40 mm of rain over several hours.
The Met Office has warned that frequent lightning, hail, and strong, gusty winds will be additional hazards. Nick Finnis of Netweather noted that "dry air entrainment aloft from the jet stream may enhance instability and bring strong winds aloft towards the surface as isolated strong gusts." He also warned that "with steep lapse rates and dry air entrainment, isolated large hail is possible too, while convergence and local backing of winds against the strong westerly flow aloft may enhance low-level shear enough to allow rotating updrafts and an isolated tornado risk."
The risk of flash flooding is also a concern, with Finnis warning that "localised intense rainfall may also lead to flash-flooding where storms train along convergence zones." The Met Office has also warned that the risk of disruption to transport and infrastructure is high, with frequent heavy showers and thunderstorms expected to cause problems.
In an update at 2pm on Saturday, Finnis noted that the thunderstorm risk had been downgraded across south England and East Anglia, but that a tornado couldn’t be ruled out, while a risk of flash-flooding is also possible. He also noted that lightning is likely to be limited in south England.
Looking ahead to Sunday and into next week, the Met Office forecast says heavy rain will be more frequent in the north of England. The forecast reads: "Sunny spells and scattered showers, these heaviest and most frequent in the north. Turning cloudier from the northwest later with further showers outbreaks. Breezy for many and feeling rather cool." For early next week, the Met Office continues: "Changeable with a mixture of sunshine, scattered showers and longer spells of rain this week. Breezy and feeling cool at first, but temperatures on the rise by midweek."
Further ahead, between June 12 and June 21, the Met Office suggested that drier conditions are likely to return. The national forecaster wrote: "The start of this period is likely to be quite unsettled but also widely warm or very warm, perhaps locally hot in parts of the south and east. Some showers and thunderstorms are likely to affect most parts but there will also be some sunshine. Over the weekend and into the start of the following week, most parts will become drier. However, there may be another brief spell of rain with a risk of some thunderstorms, before high pressure more firmly builds in from the west. The rest of the following week looks like being mainly dry with variable cloud and some sunshine and often warm or very warm. The far north may be largely cloudy with a threat of some more rain at times though."
As reported by GB News, the UK is set to experience a major storm that will bring heavy rain and strong winds. The source also reported that a yellow thunderstorm warning has been issued by the Met Office. According to GB News, Nick Finnis of Netweather warned of an isolated tornado risk and flash flooding.
