A second round of thunderstorms is expected to miss concert-goers at the BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace on Saturday night. After a forecast of thunder and downpours through Saturday morning, southern England is expected to see some “respite” before a return to “severe” weather, according to the Met Office.
The agency is likely to issue a weather warning for heavy rain, hail, and lightning across southern and central England and Wales, but will review the situation on Saturday morning. However, forecasters are predicting the second bout of storms will arrive after the Jubilee event outside Buckingham Palace, where 22,000 people are expected to attend to see performances from the likes of Craig David, Alicia Keys, and Sir Rod Stewart.
A yellow weather warning is currently in place for much of southern England until 10am on Saturday, with a risk of flooding, damage to buildings, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds. There is also a small chance of travel delays and cancellations to train and bus services.
Met Office meteorologist Steven Keates said: “It will be late evening so I think for events in London I wouldn’t want to completely discount a shower for, say, the Party at the Palace. I think at the moment it looks like a mostly dry picture and quite pleasant conditions.”
He added that those who remained out in the capital after the show faced an “increasing risk” of being caught in rain.
It comes after Friday brought sudden, heavy downpours to Wales, with the seaside town of Criccieth receiving 92mm of rain in just six hours. Homes and businesses were left damaged and some roads impassable while many were celebrating the Platinum Jubilee.
Mr Keates said the overall picture for the UK showed “big contrasts” as Scotland recorded its warmest day of the year on Friday at 21.6C. The mercury is expected to continue rising north of the border to a high of 23C in the West Highlands on Saturday, accompanied by “a lot of sunshine”.
The good weather is set to continue in Scotland with more sun and dry conditions on Sunday.
However, Sunday will remain wet across southern and central England and Wales, edging north as the day goes on, bringing some higher temperatures and sun back to southern England later on.
Saturday is expected to bring warm temperatures of around 19C and sunshine for Northern Ireland, with a bit of cloud towards the south. Cloud will arrive in southern parts of Northern Ireland on Sunday, potentially carrying a risk of rain .
Mr Keates said: “There’s a sort of north/south split in our weather over the weekend with southern areas bearing the brunt of a couple of rounds of heavy rain showers and thunderstorms and areas further north seeing fine, dry and some warm and sunny weather as well. So quite big contrasts across the UK but for some of us the weather could cause a few problems over the next couple of days and, at the very least, be inconvenient given there’s lots of outdoor plans and festivities I expect on many people’s minds.”
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