The Met Office has issued a new nine-hour yellow weather warning for thunderstorms covering Greater Manchester, coming into force at midday today (August 28) and lasting until 9pm tonight.
The warning covers all of Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Yorkshire, as well as much of Lancashire, Merseyside, the Midlands, Teesside and Wales. It comes as the region braces for a wet bank holiday weekend, with attendees of Manchester Village Pride expecting a mix of downpours and heavy showers.
Heavy showers and hail expected
The new warning follows thunderstorm alerts that affected large parts of the country on Thursday, with downpours, thunder and lightning in Greater Manchester at times during the evening.
A Met Office spokesperson said: "While many areas will miss the heaviest downpours, heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop during Friday afternoon and evening. The focus of showers and thunderstorms over will be northern England and much of Wales during the early afternoon before extending over central and eastern England through the afternoon."
"Thunderstorms will bring 10-20 mm of rain in a short period in a few places with 30-40 mm possible should anywhere see repeated downpours. Lightning and hail will be additional hazards in a few locations. Heavy showers and thunderstorms will gradually ease during Friday evening."
Local forecast and weekend outlook
The Met Office says there is a 'medium likelihood' and 'low impact' for the latest warning, which notes that travel disruption and possible flooding could occur.
Manchester is forecast for showers from 11am to 3pm, with heavy rain at 1pm. The evening is expected to be dry, but with a chance of rain at around 30 per cent at times.
Saturday could see light rain from 10am, followed by six hours of downpours from midday. Rain is forecast to ease in the evening, but light rain is expected through to Sunday morning.
Heavy showers are forecast on Sunday afternoon and throughout the night, into the afternoon on Monday. A dry, cloudy evening is currently forecast on Bank Holiday Monday, including when the Manchester Village Pride vigil will take place.
