Flooding has hit part of the West Midlands as thunderstorms are forecast across large parts of England and Wales. Two yellow thunderstorm warnings have been declared for Thursday – one covering London and the South East until 8am on Thursday and the other for Wales and much of England from 5am until 10pm.
Flooding in Birmingham
West Midlands Fire Service confirmed it had been called out to “significant flooding” in Birmingham after a flood warning was issued for the Perry Barr area on Wednesday night due to rising river levels. “Crews are being supported by West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council. Please avoid the area, where possible,” the service said in a post on X.
Birmingham City Council advised people to “take care and avoid walking, cycling or driving through flood water”. The fire service said it was responding to incidents around Curbar Road, Thornbridge Avenue and Haddon Road. The Environment Agency has issued 22 flooding alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in the Midlands and South East.
Rainfall and hail forecast
Some areas could see between 50-75mm of rainfall on Thursday, along with lightning and hail, which could cause some disruption, along with warm temperatures with highs of 27 or 28C, the Met Office said. The South East warning area could see 30-40mm of rainfall and “fairly large hail between 1-2cm”, while the bigger warning area could have more than 75mm of rain through 12 hours in parts, Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said.
Mr Snell said of Thursday: “We’re watching the risk of some heavy rain and thunderstorms moving up from the south. On Thursday as we wake up there will be a band of potentially heavy rain and thundery rain stretching across parts of the UK. For parts of the Midlands and Wales it’s going to be quite a wet day really. We could see some further thunderstorms move into the south east around Thursday evening.”
Weekend outlook
Temperatures will drop closer to average for the time of the year over the weekend, with highs of 24 or 25C on Friday, then 22 or 23C until Monday. Friday will see further heavy rain and thunderstorms across the UK, before further rain moves in on Saturday, and a mix of sunshine and showers on Sunday and Monday.
Mr Snell said: “To sum up the bank holiday weekend, it’s going to be pretty unsettled, there will be some sunny moments in between if you can dodge the downpours. It’s not going to be a complete washout, if you’ve got outdoor plans over the weekend, keep a close eye as there will be rain moving in across most parts.”
It follows hot weather across the UK which coincided with extremely dry conditions, with drought being declared in nearly three-quarters of England and the whole of Wales. The Met Office has previously said the UK is on course for its hottest summer on record after five heatwaves swept the country, with temperatures of up to 38.1C recorded in London.
