England and Wales are expected to see torrential rain and severe thunderstorms, and certain regions have been urged to prepare for rapid floods.
The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for possible travel disruptions, power outages, and lightning due to thunderstorms on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Monday brought rain and flooding to the South West due to stormy conditions.
Sunday’s high in Charlwood, Surrey, was 34.9 degrees Celsius (94.8 degrees Fahrenheit) as a result of a lengthy heatwave.
In south-east England, the heatwave was the longest in 15 years, with temperatures above 28 degrees Celsius on nine consecutive days.
A lack of precipitation for weeks has produced dryness in parts of the United Kingdom, but the next few days are unlikely to alleviate the parched conditions since rainwater struggles to enter the dry ground, so it will likely run off the surface and trigger flash flooding in certain locations.
The yellow thunderstorm warning is in effect for the majority of England and Wales on Tuesday and southern England on Wednesday.
The location of storms will be “hit or miss,” with some regions having no storms and others receiving torrential downpours.
Tuesday morning’s worst rainfall occurred in eastern and southern Scotland, where a yellow warning was in effect until 10:00 BST.
It is anticipated that the rain will proceed south-east throughout the country.
The yellow warning will stay in effect for southern England on Wednesday, but the storms will have passed on by Thursday.
According to Greg Dewhurst of the Met Office, temperatures will be lower than they have been in recent days. However, it will continue humid in certain regions, with highs around 27C.
In the central and southern regions of England, precipitation is likely to become more concentrated, with hail, frequent lightning, and flash flooding also possible.
Homes and businesses could be inundated with swiftly moving or deep floodwater, posing a threat to human life.
However, hosepipe bans are expected to stay in effect in the Isle of Man, Kent, and Sussex, while Thames Water has said that a ban will go into effect “about the middle of next week.
Cathryn Ross, the organization’s head of strategy and regulatory relations, stated, “We’ve had less than 65% of the average rainfall this year.”
“July and August were exceptionally hot and dry, and if we were to prevent a ban at this point, it would probably have to rain for three months, which is not going to happen.”
Greater London, the Thames Valley, Gloucestershire, and northern Wiltshire are served by Thames Water.
A hosepipe ban will also go into effect on August 23 for Cornwall and parts of Devon, August 19 for Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, and August 26 for Yorkshire Water.
On Monday, social media footage depicted a roundabout in Truro, Cornwall, rapidly overflowing as rain swept in.
And in Belfast, a shopping center was forced to close due to roof-caused flooding.
The roofs of a Tesco supermarket and a Vue cinema in Inverness have collapsed as a result of the severe rainfall at Inshes Retail Park.
A lightning strike has ripped a hole in the roof of a residence on the Isle of Man, where emergency services have verified that four dwellings were damaged during an overnight thunderstorm.
Professor Hannah Cloke, a hydrology expert at the University of Reading, commented on the likelihood of flooding in drought-stricken areas, stating, “The ground is extremely dry, and when it is that dry, it functions a bit like concrete; water cannot penetrate, so it drains out immediately.
“These floods can cause damage to houses and businesses as well as transportation interruptions, but if it is particularly heavy in one area, it can also be highly dangerous.”
