Thunderstorms on their way across the region as Met Office issues weather warning
Thunderstorms are set strike in the West Midlands this week as the Met Office issues a yellow warning for large swathes of the UK.
While residents in the Black Country, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Mid Wales currently enjoy clear blue skies and highs of 28C (82.4F), that's set to change in a matter of days.
A yellow warning has been issued by meteorologists from 11am-8pm on Thursday across vast swathes of the midlands and north of England, as well as the whole of Wales, with temperatures set to stay around 21C (69.8F) across the region.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris said: "The hot and clear weather currently being experienced across large parts of the UK is forecast to break down through the middle of the week as showers and thunderstorms arrive. These will initially affect the southwest of the UK on Wednesday, before moving steadily north and developing across most areas through Thursday and Friday.
"Thunderstorm warnings have been issued across a number of areas to highlight the potential for isolated impacts, including surface water flooding of homes and businesses, disruption to transport, and very isolated damage to infrastructure from lightning or hail.
"The semi-random nature of showers and thunderstorms means that many places will not see any thunderstorms at all, so it's not possible at this range to be more precise about the locations at risk, or indeed be more confident about the potential for impacts.”
The full list of areas across the region set to experience heavy storms includes:
Herefordshire
Powys
Shropshire
Staffordshire
Stoke-on-Trent
Telford and Wrekin
Warwickshire
West Midlands Conurbation
Thunderstorms can occur at any time of the year but it is during the summer months when thunderstorms in the UK are most likely to produce large hail, gusty winds and torrential downpours that can cause disruption to transport networks and damage property.
The Met Office advises residents to not use their landlines during a thunderstorm, as telephone lines can conduct electricity.
If caught outside in a storm, people should avoid large bodies of water and find a low-lying place that is a safe distance from trees, poles or metal objects.
Thunderstorms can also bring a risk of sudden gusty winds, so those who should take extra precautions include cyclists, motorcyclists, and drivers of high sided vehicles.
