Storms wreak havoc across Britain as Met Office warns of wet and windy weather throughout the week

Britons have been warned to brace for a week of wet and windy weather as half-term travel plans were left in tatters after almost a month’s worth of rain descended on parts of southern England yesterday.

Powerful gusts of wind ripped down trees and foliage in north London, while videos shared across social media saw flash flooding completely submerge pavements and some roads in Peckham.

Elsewhere, in the New Forest, there was reported damage after one resident captured the moment a ‘mini-tornado’ tore through their town – causing trees and unsecured structures to shake violently in the wind. 

Hundreds of homes across parts of the south east were also hit by power cuts on Monday morning, with dozens of outages reported by UK Power Networks.

Fire on the Water, a popular arts festival in Great Yarmouth, was evacuated after one of the marquee tents collapsed following strong gusts and thundery conditions that lashed much of Britain’s coast. 

Those travelling to work on roads this morning will also face disruption after the weekend’s flooding after dozens of flood alerts were issued by the Environmental Agency across the UK including in Bristol, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Chertsey Bourne.

There were warnings that flooding was expected in Saredon Brook at Standeford near Wolverhampton and Smestow Brook at Hinksford near Kidderminster.

Lanes on the M25 have been closed due to surface water flooding and the M4 will also reportedly be closed until this morning after long queues were reported near Slough and Maidenhead, Berkshire.

Commuters were also facing headaches after South Western Railway services were suspended between Wimbledon and Effingham Junction after signalling problems. 

The Met Office today warned that the blustery conditions are likely to continue throughout the week for parts of the country, with heavy showers expected in the south and southwest of the UK. Meteorologists have also warned of powerful gales striking the west by Friday. 

 

Commuters faced a morning of travel chaos with disruption on trains and flooded roads set to continue after nearly a month’s worth of rain fell yesterday in parts of southern England.

The wet weather brought much of the South to a standstill yesterday, with one pub garden in Croydon, south London, ripped apart by conditions likened to a tornado.

Meanwhile, in east Croydon, staff at Nando’s were forced to rush out to help people caught in the torrential rain and gales, who were seen clinging on to their belongings amid the brutal winds.

Many took to social media to ask whether a tornado had struck. One user said: ‘Was that just a #tornado in #Croydon? Sudden downpour, lots of lightning, huge winds. Then stopped!’

In west London, a tree collapsed onto a road in Shepherd’s Bush amid the stormy conditions. 

Footage showed dramatic rain and lightning across the capital during yesterday’s downpour – which was followed by blazing, colourful sunsets.

There were reports of major airports including Heathrow facing mass disruption yesterday. The travel chaos continues today with Great Western Railway warning that disruption through Reading is expected during rush hour.   The rail operator cited damage to overhead electric wires.  

Public transport was severely hit yesterday evening with South Western Railway passengers facing disruption after a tree fell on the tracks, causing delays between Salisbury and Romsey.

National Rail was also severely affected after heavy flooding on train routes between Stourbridge Junction and Birmingham Snow Hill, and Stoke-On-Trent and Macclesfield.

Meanwhile Southeastern, which runs services into London, was forced to close lines at West Wickham and Welling because of fallen trees.

Passengers’ troubles were compounded when another tree fell and blocked the road being used by replacement buses between Tunbridge Wells and Battle. 

A yellow warning for thunder was put in place for much of southern and eastern England, including Bath, Brighton, Norwich and London, until 2am.  

Heavy rainfall yesterday was followed by a dramatic sunset, with blazing skies seen in pictures and videos shared on social media.

The Met Office had warned householders of potentially damaging floodwater, lightning strikes, hail and strong winds. 

The warning added that transport could also be affected, with potential road closures and train cancellations.

Heathrow had reported a number of delayed flights due to the weather, with a significant number of planes reported to be in a holding pattern, while flights at Gatwick were reported to be similarly affected,

Inrix, the traffic data company, said: ‘Reports of thunderstorms affecting flights to / from London Heathrow Airport. Passengers should check the status of their flight before travelling. Most flights in and out are delayed due to heavy rainfall.’

Up to 60mm (2.3in) was predicted in isolated locations across southeastern and central England during thundery downpours which were forecast to continue until around 2am. The conditions were brought by a weather front moving west to east.

Total average rainfall for the whole of September across England is normally 68mm (2.7in). The wettest place in the country yesterday was Bratch, Worcestershire, where 34.8mm (1.37in) fell between 3am and midday.

More than an inch of rain was also recorded yesterday morning at locations in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire and Somerset.

The Met Office had warned that the total amount of rain could lead to flooding of homes and businesses. 

The yellow warning on its website stated: ‘There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.’ 

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said the storms could lead to 0.8mm to 1.2mm (0.3 to 0.5in) of rainfall in one hour. He said: ‘We’re talking flash flooding, surface water flooding, because of intense rates in a short period of time.’ 

However, in brighter news, further sunny spells are predicted this week once the storms pass and temperatures could be almost as high as in parts of France, where Bordeaux will be 22C (72F) tomorrow. 

Mr Burkill said: ‘Through the next few days temperatures will be rising. By the middle of the week, we could be in the low 20s in some places, possibly 21 (70F).’

Yesterday there were reports on social media of flooded roads in Lincolnshire.

Mr Burkill said of the weekend’s storms: ‘It is because of the risk of some heavy thunderstorms coming through, talk of 20 to 30 millimetres perhaps in just an hour, and for some 40 to 60 (millimetres) in two to three hours.’

However, people could see some sunny spells next week once the storms are out of the way.

Mr Burkill said that the only concern could be some further heavy rain tomorrow.

‘The only slight cause for concern is a system that comes through Tuesday night into Wednesday,’ he said.

‘That could bring some heavy rain, particularly for western parts.’

Met Office meteorologist Rebecca Hudson had said that the risk was mostly confined to central and southern England.

She said: ‘It’s almost in a sort of triangular shape. So it goes from East Yorkshire roughly down to the Cardiff area, east Devon, to London as well, and East Anglia.’

She added: ‘There will be some heavier showers overnight on Sunday into Monday, but these will gradually weaken and then Monday will be a lot drier with some sunny spells around as well.’