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Midlands braced for ‘flooding’ amid Met Office amber thunderstorm alert
The Midlands is braced for potential flooding as the region was hit with an ‘amber’ thunderstorm alert this afternoon. The rare warning is in place until 7pm this evening, June 12, covering Birmingham, the Black Country, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire and Shropshire.
Two thunderstorm alerts are currently in place in England, yellow and amber. The yellow one is covering most of central England and most of Wales.
However the amber warning, which means thunderstorms are more likely to happen and could have a bigger impact, is centered around the Midlands region, stretching from Oxford to Stoke. The Met Office has three warning levels in total: yellow, amber and red.
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The amber warning said: “Active thunderstorms will bring heavy rainfall, lightning, strong winds, and hail. Travel disruption and surface water flooding are likely.”
What to expect according to Met Office:
- Flooding of homes and businesses could happen quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds
- Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
- Some communities might become cut off if roads flood
- Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services
- Power cuts might occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost
- Fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible, causing a danger to life
The Midlands is expected to be the first hit by a rash of thunderstorms, according to DailyStar. Fourteen flood warnings have been issued by The Environment Agency. Grahame Madge, a meteorologist at the Met Office said that it’s difficult to predict exactly where thunderstorms might hit, and that people within areas likely to be affected should be prepared for any sudden weather changes.
Grahame said: “Within these areas we can expect heavy rain, possibly hail, potentially frequent lightning. He added: “Within the area we are advising that people might want to think about how suddenly they can be subjected to flash flooding or a power cut.
“Are people prepared? Make sure mobile phones are charged and that sort of thing. Because when you get these storms they can change your circumstances quite dramatically within almost a matter of minutes.”
Built-up areas are most prone to flooding, because pavements, roads and concreted-over driveways can’t soak up rain the way open fields might. Underpasses can also fill quickly and drivers could face hazards with flood water on roads.
Higher temperatures are concentrated in the north today, with Manchester, Leeds, and Keswick, Cumbria, between 30 and 31C, while south-central England remains in the high 20s, with London and Cambridge both reaching between 27 and 28C Further thunderstorms may be possible in the first half of the week, with fresher conditions and temperatures slightly decreasing towards Thursday and Friday.
However, the sunny weather is staying with most parts of the country forecast to remain above 24 and 25C throughout the week, and temperatures potentially reaching 29C in Bristol and Birmingham over Wednesday and Thursday. Cooler air from the North Sea will reach parts of the UK on Thursday and Friday, particularly areas along the North Sea coast and the East of England.
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