Thunderstorms Set To Lash South East As School Summer Holidays Begin

Violent thunderstorms have been forecast for the southeast of England on Friday, adding insult to injury for the nine million extra cars already hitting the road for 'Frantic Friday' - the start of the school summer holidays.

Many of the school children who have been watching the recent glorious weather through classroom windows and counting down the days to their longest break in the school year will be met with standstill traffic and rapturous downpours. Bit harsh that, isn't it?

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms in the South East, which will take the brunt of the battering with rain of up to 30mm per hour, as Britain's longest heatwave for over 40 years comes to a resounding halt.

The weather warning, which covers East Anglia, London and the South East from 2pm to 11.55pm Friday, also says there could be lightning strikes, which could lead to cancelled buses and trains.

"There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater," the Met Office said.

Weather forecaster Rachel West told the Sun: "There will be a weather front moving into the North West from Thursday night bringing clouds and outbreaks of rain.

"But ahead of that weather front there is the possibility of slow-moving thundery showers impacting the South East.

"All the ingredients are in place for thunderstorms, and where they do hit they will stick around for a while.

"Some areas could see 30mm of rainfall in an hour, which could have quite a big impact, especially on urban areas."

PA

Thankfully for those hard-done-by school kids, the rainy weather won't be lasting long and this summer's normal service will resume over the weekend, with most of England getting a level two warning for heat as healthcare and social care services have been warned of a 60 percent chance of heatwave conditions.

Ms West added: "For many it will be a drier picture over the weekend. Temperatures will actually creep up day on day, with Friday seeing highs of 29C.

"Saturday and Sunday will also feel quite hot with 30C expected in parts."

Seems like the best way to avoid the millions of extra cars on the roads this weekend is to be sat in the garden with a cold beer. Foolproof.

Topics: Weather, UK News, News, heatwave, UK

Nathan Standley

Nathan Standley is a freelance journalist and LADBible contributor. He graduated from Durham University with a degree in Anthropology before going on to do a Master’s degree in Journalism at the University of Sheffield. He also writes articles for The Versed and is the Cultural Editor of The Common Sense Network.