Storms and flash flooding could hit many parts of England and Wales in the next 24 hours, forecasters are warning.
An amber "be prepared" warning for heavy and thundery showers has been issued by the Met Office.
The Environment Agency has 59 flood alerts across most of England, and is warning of intense downfalls of rain.
It comes after much of the country saw sunshine and hot weather on Friday, with temperatures in Gravesend, Kent, reaching 32.3C (90F), a high for 2014.
'Torrential downpours'The Met Office has also issued a yellow heat-health warning for southern and eastern England and the Midlands, meaning "alert and readiness".
Overnight, the first floor and roof of a house in Sittingbourne, Kent, was set alight by a lightning strike and a bungalow's roof was hit in Whitstable.
Houses were struck in the market village of Lenham, near Maidstone, while lightning also started several small fires in Willesborough, near Ashford.
The Met Office amber warning is in effect for most parts of England and Wales, except for the far north, west and eastern regions.
But all other parts of the UK, except for the north of Scotland and Northern Ireland, are subject to a yellow "be aware" warning for rain.
The Met Office says a very warm and humid air mass across the UK will become "increasingly unstable", leading to more intense thunderstorms.
Several areas saw rain on Friday night and the wet weather will begin to move northwards during the day, it adds.
Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: "We're expecting heavy thundery showers through the weekend with the potential for torrential downpours, large hail, frequent lightning and locally strong gusts.
"Not everywhere will see thunderstorms but where they do form we could see significant rainfall in a short space of time, which could cause localised flooding."
'Very humid'The heat-health alert is triggered when there is a 60% or more chance of heatwave conditions.
The Met Office said: "Heavy thunderstorms in eastern areas on Saturday will lead to slightly lower maximum temperatures, but it will still be very humid."
The Environment Agency, meanwhile, predicts that 30mm (1.2in) of rain could fall in an hour in some areas during the downpours.
Environment minister Dan Rogerson said the agency was working closely with local authorities to prepare for any flooding.
'Particular risk'The Open golf championship at Hoylake on Merseyside will use a two-tee start for the first time in its history because of the risk of thunderstorms.
Play will start from both the first and 10th tees to allow for the third round to be completed even if there are delays of up to five hours.
The second cricket Test between England and India at Lord's could also be affected, with spectators being warned to expect storm interruptions.
Public Health England (PHE) said the hot weather would continue across much of England this weekend and is urging people to keep up to date with weather forecasts.
PHE director for health protection Dr Paul Cosford said: "Prolonged heat poses a particular risk to the old, young and those with heart and lung conditions, who may feel the effects of hot weather more acutely than others.
"Heat-health warnings are worth repeating and although rain is forecast for the weekend it also will remain very warm in a number of places."
The sweltering temperatures that ended the week came after lightning struck the UK more than 3,000 times in the early hours of Friday.
If you are affected by the storms, you can get in touch by emailing talkingpoint@bbc.co.uk. Please include the term 'Storms' in the subject line of your message.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Flood warnings and storms forecast
Dengan url
http://sarapanoatmeal.blogspot.com/2014/07/flood-warnings-and-storms-forecast.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Flood warnings and storms forecast
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Flood warnings and storms forecast
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar