The Met Office has issued a comprehensive thunderstorm warning for the South West, highlighting significant risks of flooding, lightning strikes, and potential power outages. Following a prolonged spell of warm and sunny weather, the region is bracing for a sharp weather shift.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms are forecast to impact a broad area on Monday, May 12, including northern Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, much of Wales, and the West Midlands. The weather alert is active from 12pm until 10pm, during which forecasters warn that up to 30mm of rain could fall within an hour, creating hazardous driving conditions and localized flooding threats.
Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Harris explained, “Starting from Saturday night into Sunday morning, rain showers and isolated thunderstorms will begin moving northwards across the Southwest UK. These conditions will then extend to western parts of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by Monday.
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“Monday may see particularly intense thunderstorms develop, especially over Wales and southern England, while other areas will experience dry and increasingly warm weather. If these storms build as expected, rainfall totals of 25-35mm per hour could cause surface water flooding. Additional dangers include lightning, hail, and strong, isolated wind gusts.
“Since precise thunderstorm locations are challenging to predict this far in advance, it’s essential to stay updated with the Met Office forecasts and heed any severe weather warnings issued.”
Weather maps indicate that thundery showers will sweep northwestward from the Channel, becoming especially strong along northern coastal areas of the affected regions. Most severe conditions are expected to subside by 10pm.
The Met Office further noted, “Monday afternoon will see scattered showers and thunderstorms that, although generally fast-moving, may produce intense bursts of rain—20-30mm in less than an hour, and in isolated cases, up to 40-50mm over 1-2 hours where storms intensify. Lightning, hail, and gusty winds will compound the hazards before conditions ease later in the evening.”
Residents and travelers in the affected areas are advised to prepare for rapidly changing weather and maintain vigilance throughout the alert period.