Chance of thunderstorms on Sunday as Met Office issues warning

Photo: Chloé Hoyle

Lightning at Crown Oil Arena on 16 June 2020

The whole of the Rochdale borough is covered by a thunderstorm warning on Sunday, as a plume of warm air will raise temperatures and increase the risk of thundery showers.

The yellow warning has been issued for Sunday between 12 noon and 9pm, covering a large area of the UK including parts of Wales, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Temperatures will begin to climb from Friday as the warmer air pushes in from the south.

As this warmer air pushes further north and east through the weekend, temperatures will rise triggering widespread thundery showers by Sunday. These will bring the chance of hail and gusty winds for some places, as well as torrential downpours for a few. The Met Office says a few places can expect 30-40 mm rainfall in an hour. The odd place, affected by multiple showers, could see more than this, perhaps in excess of 60 mm in a few hours, this being most likely across Wales and central England

This will be the first meaningful rainfall for many places across the UK for several weeks. As is often the case, many places will either miss the worst of any thunderstorms, some staying dry altogether, just a few locations catching the intense downpours.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders, said: “The heat will last for a few more days at least, Sunday will see 30°C again in parts of southern UK and the risk of thunderstorms also spreads more widely across the UK – particularly western and central areas – with heavy downpours again brining the risk of thunder, hail and gusty winds.

“As well as higher daytime temperatures, overnight temperatures will also climb with some locations not getting below the mid-teens °C overnight.”