Storms bring flash flooding and travel disruptionon June 12, 2023 at 9:13 pm

Thunderstorms have brought torrential downpours and flooding to parts of the UK on Monday.

Cars could be seen ploughing through deep puddles after flash flooding in north-west London.

Meanwhile, Manchester City’s victory parade celebrating their Treble win was delayed by 30 minutes due to lightning.

Official weather warnings have now passed for Monday, but two storm warnings are in place for Northern Ireland and Scotland on Tuesday.

The yellow warnings, which mean storms may bring some disruption, will cover much of Northern Ireland, and a western area of Scotland from 12:00 BST to 21:00.

BBC Weather meteorologist Stav Danaos said a number of thunderstorms in the Midlands had brought intense downpours in places, with Woburn in Bedfordshire catching 26.4mm in one hour on Monday afternoon.

Tuesday will be drier and more settled, with large amounts of sunshine, BBC Weather said. There could be some isolated showers and cloud in the afternoon, mainly in western areas. Later in the week, temperatures are expected to be less humid.

It is hard to tie specific weather events to climate change, but we do know that extreme weather is becoming more likely and more intense because of human-induced climate change.

Drumnadrochit, on the western shore of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, saw 32.4mm in one hour, followed by another 10.6mm in the following hour. Other parts of Scotland had their hottest day of the year so far, with Threave in Dumfries and Galloway reaching 30.1C.

There were around 7,500 lighting strikes recorded nationwide, with more expected.

Despite the poor weather causing delays, thousands of Manchester City fans lined streets in the city centre for the open-top parade celebrating the club’s Treble.

Many of the club’s players – including star striker Erling Haaland – were unfazed by the rain, taking their shirts off as they paraded their silverware around the city.

Former City goalkeeper Shay Given told BBC Radio 5 Live he had experienced “rain, hailstones and wind – four seasons in one hour”.

Meanwhile, Luton and Dunstable Hospital in Bedfordshire asked people to only attend its emergency department for life-threatening illness and injuries because of “localised flooding”. Heavy rain also caused flood-flashing in the centre of Stroud, Gloucestershire.

The weather also led to travel disruption.

Thunderstorms in the south of England on Sunday led to flight cancellations, with knock-on cancellations on Monday due to planes being out of position. Some cancellations were also reported at London Heathrow.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has also issued an amber alert for hot weather until 0900 BST on Tuesday in the West Midlands, East Midlands, east of England, South East and South West.

It means high temperatures could affect all ages and impact the health service.

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has also issued a high air pollution alert for Tuesday, the second of the year, caused by high temperatures and pollution travelling from Europe.

He urged people to avoid unnecessary car journeys, and instead to walk, cycle or take public transport.