Met Office issues 36-hour warning for thunderstorms and heavy rain in Greater Manchester

The spell of nice weather the region has been enjoying could be brought to an abrupt end later this week, grim predictions are showing.

Greater Manchester has seen weeks of unusually warm and sunny weather, with temperatures reaching highs of 25 degrees Celsius – perfect for the reopening of pubs and the start of the Euros.

However, residents may want to dig out their rain coats and wellington boots, because these holiday-esque conditions could sadly be coming to an end this week and instead be replaced with heavy rain and thunderstorms, the Met Office has warned.

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By Wednesday, thunderstorms could pass through the region, with the Met Office issuing a yellow thunderstorm warning specifically for Greater Manchester, parts of Yorkshire, and other areas of the UK.

The warning means that these areas are likely to see storms, with a potential for flooding and travel disruptions. 

The Met Office also warned that there is a ‘small chance’ of homes and other buildings flooding in the spells of heavy rain, and other damage caused by lightning strikes, hail, and gale force winds.

It also said that wherever flooding or lightning strikes occur, it could have an adverse impact on public transport, and could even cause delays or cancellations to train and bus services.

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They also said there is a small chance some communities could be cut off by flooded roads, as well as  power cuts and other services lost.

The warnings are currently in place from 6pm on Wednesday, June 16th, to 6am on Friday, June 18th.

Now, these kinds of conditions aren’t uncommon after a spell of hot weather – thunderstorms and other stormy conditions are the result of an unstable atmosphere which is caused by warm air underneath much colder air.

High humidity areas, in conjunction with warm temperat­ures, create huge amounts of warm and moist air rising into the atmosphere where it can easily form a thunderstorm.