UK Weather Warning! Heavy Rain Comes into Multiple Areas in The South East, including London
A yellow weather warning for heavy rain came into force at 6am on Saturday morning. The warning applies to several areas in the South East, including London.
Storm Lillian brought chaos to the start of the bank holiday season, and heavy rain will cause more problems for the rest of the weekend.
The warning covers an area from the Isle of Wight to Ipswich in Suffolk, and also includes London. The Met Office warned that the rain could turn into thunderstorms, with highs in the teens.
Meteorologists warned that parts of the UK could see 50 to 70mm of rain on Saturday, causing transport disruptions and flooding.
A storm hit Wales and England on Friday morning, leaving more than 73,000 homes without power or facing power supply problems in the northeast of England and Yorkshire.
The highest gust recorded was 73mph at Capel Currig in Gwynedd, while gusts of 70mph were also recorded at Crosby in Merseyside and Loch Vyrnwy in Powys.
Leeds Festival was also disrupted, with two stages at Braham Park out of use all weekend after organisers said “Mother Nature did her part”.
A statement from the event said the BBC Radio 1 tent and stage and the brand new “Aux” venue would be out of use on Saturday and Sunday following an inspection by the health and safety team.
This means acts such as indie singer Beabadoobee and US star Ashnikko, who were due to perform on the BBC Radio 1 stage, are believed to have been cancelled, while podcasters Antics With Ash and The Useless Hotline were due to perform on the Aux stage.
The festival previously closed two stages and the Chevron stage on Friday due to the weather.
Campers at the Creamfields dance venue in Leeds and Cheshire County have endured a sleepless night as the storm began to hit the north with gusts of 50 to 60mph.
Several videos circulated online showed festivalgoers desperately trying to hold onto their tents, while one was filmed flying through the air when the winds got too strong.
Jason Kamara, 23, one festival-goer, said the weather had made it “impossible” for him to sleep and that “a lot of people” had their tents damaged.
British Airways cancelled 16 flights due to depart from Heathrow and delayed others, with road, rail and air disruptions also occurring, according to the airline’s website.
Meanwhile, a truck travelling on the Humber Bridge was blown off its side by strong winds as it crossed the bridge, lifting its rear wheel off.
After Saturday, much of southern Britain and Ireland will remain dry with some sunshine, but elsewhere there will be showers or longer spells of rain. It will become quite cold and stormy again, especially in the north.
Similar conditions are expected on Bank Holiday Monday, as much of southern and eastern Britain will remain dry and clear or sunny, while the north and west will be windy again.
