Households in parts of the UK are being urged to stockpile some key items for emergencies after the Met Office issued a fresh warning of thunderstorms and rain. The forecaster has issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms and rain across most of England and Scotland on Tuesday.
The warning began at 2pm and remains in place until 6pm, while in Scotland it is in place from 12pm to 6pm. The Met Office advised checking if your property could be at risk of flooding. If so, consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit. Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, and amending your travel plans if necessary.
The Met Office said: “People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It’s easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack, and other essential items.
“Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the forecast for your area.”
The Met also advised that following overnight and this morning’s rain, which could be heavy at times, showers are expected to break out this afternoon and are likely to be slow-moving. A few places could see 20 mm in an hour, and the odd location could see 30-40 mm in 2-3 hours. This may lead to some localised flooding and travel disruption across parts of central Scotland.
The heaviest showers may be accompanied by thunder but showers will tend to steadily fade through the evening.