Thunderstorms to hit UK as Met Office warns of power cuts and travel disruption

Thunderstorms could cause power cuts and travel disruption in parts of the UK on Tuesday, the Met Office has warned.

A yellow weather warning, active from 12pm until 9pm on Tuesday, has been issued by the forecaster for a large swathe of south-west England including Plymouth, Exeter and Bath.

The warning also covers most of Wales, including Cardiff and Swansea.

It advises that thunderstorms are “likely to develop in places”, leading to “some travel disruption and surface water flooding” as well as difficult driving conditions and some possible road closures.

The Met Office added that there is a chance of delays and cancellations to train and bus services and a “slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost”.

Another yellow weather alert is in place for most of Northern Ireland west of Belfast, from 8am until 9pm on Tuesday, with similar warnings that the “likely” occurrence of heavy rain and thunderstorms could bring disruption and flooding.

As of Tuesday morning there were 23 alerts from the Environment Agency for possible flooding, which you can find detailed here alongside a map and a tool to check for warnings in your area.

It follows previous thunderstorm warnings affecting areas of Wales, the West Midlands and south-west England last week and over the last bank holiday.

The five-day forecast

Showers are expected to be heavy and thundery at times today and this evening, especially across Northern Ireland, the north of Scotland and southern England. These are expected to ease across the south-west overnight, the Met Office predicts, “turning rather cloudy across the east with a more persistent band of rain reaching eastern England later”.

On Wednesday, a “band of heavy rain” is forecast to move northwards across eastern and possibly some central regions, while western areas should continue to see “a mix of sunshine and heavy showers”.

The rain is then expected to gradually clear to the north during Thursday and Friday, followed by brighter skies and a few showers.

Many places should be drier on Saturday, though showers are currently forecast to move into the west later.

The Met Office also previously forecast that temperatures could soar to 30°C over the bank holiday weekend for the first time this year.