Washout weekend
Storms bring warnings of more chaos on road & rail
A WASHOUT weekend brings to an end the long hot spell with warnings of floods and damage to buildings from lightning and hail storms.
The south will be worst hit, with as much as 40mm of rain falling in under and hour – or possibly even up to 60mm, the Met Office said.
It issued a yellow thunderstorm alert lasting until Monday, with warnings covering much of England and Wales.
Heavy rain could bring floods for the rest of the weekend. Neil Davies of the Environment Agency said: “Isolated thunderstorms could bring sudden surface water and river flooding, which may lead to flooded properties and severe travel disruption in some areas.
M25 in Surrey had to be closed after rain
Further surface water and river flooding is also a possibility until Sunday.”
The Environment Agency has a warning for expected flooding at Winford Brook at Chew Magna, south of Bristol, along with six alerts for possible flooding around Birmingham. Southern areas are likely to be worst hit by storms.
Met Office chief meteorologist Frank Saunders said: “Parts of southern England and South Wales will see the greatest likelihood of impacts. The storms will not affect all areas, but where they happen there will be frequent lightning, gusty winds and intense, heavy downpours.”
Extra safety measures have been put in place across the rail network after three people died in a trail derailment in Aberdeenshire this week after torrential rain there. Scottish transport secretary Michael Matheson said it was likely the weather had affected the incident, and told of a need to prepare for such “localised, intense weather events”.
Passengers were evacuated from a train after a landslide in Kent on Thursday, and part of the M25 in Surrey had to be closed due to flooding.