‘Danger to life’ flood warnings in place as thunderstorms and heavy showers are set to sweep across the UK throughout the week
- The risk of flooding at Whaley Bridge remains a danger to life, the Environment Agency said this morning
- The EA has issued eight further flood alerts as 10 days worth of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Scotland
- After record high temperatures in July the UK is braced for a week of storms and heavy showers nationwide
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A ‘danger to life’ severe flood warning remains in place near Whaley Bridge this morning and the Environment agency is warning that flooding is possible at eight other locations around the country as the UK braces for a week of thunderstorms.
By this morning almost two weeks’ worth of rain had fallen in just 24 hours in western Scotland, and the Met Office is forecasting ‘intense downpours’ for some areas through the course of today and this week.
Showers and thunderstorms are likely for ‘much of the country’, forecasters said, with particularly heavy downpours headed for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland on Monday morning.
After record-high temperatures through July the country is struggling with heavy rain and flash flooding, with alerts issued for locations including the Humber estuary, the North West and areas around the Bristol channel.
Lightning flashed acros sthe sky over South Shields in the North East of England last night, with more storms forecast
In London commuters trudged to work under grey August skies this morning with floods possible in nine regions of the UK
The Met Office is warning of the possibility of thunderstorms up and down the country over the start of this week
The Met Office said that Monday would remain mainly dry and bright through the day, with showers in places.
Some of the showers will be heavy, especially across Northern Ireland and Scotland, where thunder is possible.
A few showers will continue through the evening and overnight, especially in northern, western and central parts of the UK. In the east it will be mainly dry.
The Environment agency has issued eight flood alerts for: the Humber estuary from Spurn Point to Winestead Outfall; the River Mersey catchment including areas near Bramhall, Stockport, Sale, Altrincham and Urmston; the north Devon Coast from Hartland Point to Lynmouth; the uplands catchment of the MErsey including Hyde, Ashton-under-Lyne, Denton, Stalybridge and Glossop; the Somerset coast at Porlock Weir; the tidal River Avon at Bristol, Pill and Shirehampton; the upper River Swale; the Wyre estuary from Fleetwood to Little Eccleston.
The Environmental Agency has issued eight Flood Alerts in addition to warning that the possible collapse of the dam at Whaley Bridge represents a risk to life
The outlook is better for today than it is for later in the week but for those areas not hit by storms the weather will be fine
Lightning strikes near St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, north east England, in the early hours of the morning as more rain and thunderstorms brought further flood warnings across the UK
More than 53mm of rainfall was recorded at the Met Office post in Tyndrum in Western Scotland in the last 24 hours, where average monthly rainfall for the whole of August is only 140mm.
In the west country five to ten millimetres of rain fell and in the northwest, upto an inch of rain came down Sunday.
Forecasters warned the weather would remain ‘very variable’ through the week with isolation downpours in some regions.
In the capital commuters huddled under umbrellas and coats this morning as rain hit the London area at rush hour
Grey skies: The view form the Millennium Bridge this morning did little to remind commuters we are well into August
A Chinook helicopter operates near the damaged spillway of the Toddbrook Reservoir dam above the town of Whaley Bridge in northern England, pictured yesterday. Another 55 homes have been evacuated from the town as emergency services race to reduce the water levels in the reservoir ahead of fresh storms