Thunderstorm warning - A month's worth of rain possible by Friday

Credit: Marco Catenta

THUNDERSTORMS BY FRIDAY - Up to month's worth of rain in a day!

Showers will become increasingly more widespread and heavy through this week as an area of low pressure sweeps in from the Atlantic.

Showers will merge to longer spells of rain by Thursday, slow moving and thundery by Friday.

Warnings are now in place for the second half of the week.

Pressure chart for Friday 6th August (issued Tues 3rd Aug) Credit: MET OFFICE

Slow moving, thundery downpours may cause localised surface water impacts, with the potential for 40-100mm rainfall in parts of the north west by the time we reach the weekend.

Early warning (revised Wednesday 4th August) for Friday 6th August 10am until 9am Saturday Credit: MET OFFICE

The warning area currently covers all of the North West.

Rainfall totals will vary considerably and not all locations will be affected by the heaviest showers. However, where the showers do occur there is potential for 20-30mm of rain in a short space of time and during the course of the day there is a chance that some places could see as much as 80-100mm build up.

.....if this happens that would be over the month's average for North West England! The average (depending on where in the region you live) is between 75-105mm for August.

Downpour over Crosby, late July, 2021 Credit: MICHELLE STOTT, Waterloo

WHAT TO EXPECT...

  • Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures

  • Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services

  • There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater.

Torrential rain over Latchford, late July, 2021 Credit: DAVID NOBLE