Met Office issues three day weather warning as thunderstorms to hit Merseyside

Thunder and lightning hits Liverpool
-Credit: (Image: Liverpool Echo)


The Met Office has issued a three-day weather warning with heavy showers and thunderstorms expected to batter Merseyside and the wider north west. The Met Office has issued a yellow warning - an alert that advises people to take preventative action because of the weather - for the remainder of Saturday night, Sunday and Monday.

The Met Office said tonight: "Showers and thunderstorms continue across parts of north west England and north and west Wales. While many areas will miss the worst of these showers and storms, where they do occur 20-40 mm could fall in less than an hour, with a small chance of isolated accumulations of 50-60 mm over the course of a few hours. In addition, hail and frequent lightning may accompany the most intense storms, especially at first."

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The Met Office said where flooding or lightning strikes occur there is a chance of delays and some cancellations for public transport. Power cuts might also occur and flooding of homes and businesses could happen quickly, the Met Office said.

Met Office advice added: "Fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible, causing a danger to life. Some communities might become cut off if roads flood." The yellow warning for the region for Sunday and Monday predicts the end of thunderstorms but areas of heavy rain will continue to bring potential for further disruption.

The Met Office has advised people to take extra caution when travelling. It said it is safer not to drive in thunderstorms, but if people have to travel they should drive slow, use main roads and give more time to react on the potentially slippy surfaces by keeping a bigger gap between vehicles.

The current overnight forecast says rain is likely to stop in Merseyside at around 3am but darker clouds and higher chances of precipitation are due to start again at around 1pm tomorrow (Sunday).