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Daily Mirror

National

Kieren Williams

UK weather: 31 flood alerts issued ahead of 'widespread' thunderstorms - see full list

Brits have been hit with 31 flood alerts amid a ‘widespread’ thunderstorm warning.

Following the country’s second heatwave in a matter of weeks, the UK now braces for storms that could trigger flooding up and down the country.

England’s Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Natural Resources Wales have put out 31 flood alerts in total.

Some parts of the country could see storms until midweek, with a Met Office yellow weather warning in place until Wednesday.

The 12 flood alerts in England stretch from North Devon, to Essex and North Norfolk to the Wyre Estuary.

The alerts call on Brits to “be prepared” and a lot of the alerts are for areas, both coastal and further inland, where high tides could combine with rain to lead to flooding.

The 12 flood alerts in place for England, with a further 16 in Scotland and three in Wales (UK GOV)

This includes areas like Christchurch Harbour but also parts of London around the River Thames from Putney Bridge to Teddington Weir and the River Avon at Bristol, Pill and Shirehampton.

In Scotland, 16 alerts are in place that cover much of the nation, including stretching from Aberdeenshire to Angus, and Skye to the Scottish Borders.

In the alerts they warn that “heavy thundery showers” could trigger the flooding but any that take place will likely be localised.

Scots are warned: “Heavy thundery showers could cause flooding impacts from surface water and small watercourses during Sunday and overnight into Monday.

“Any flooding impacts are likely to be localised and not all areas will be affected. Impacts may include flooding to low-lying land and roads, with difficult driving conditions. Urban areas and the transport network are particularly at risk, and ground conditions are currently very dry which may increase surface water runoff."

The yellow thunderstorm warning issued by the Met Office for Monday 15 August (Met Office)

Wales has three flood alerts in place and has recently removed two previous ones.

The alerts focus on the south west coast of Wales, around the Ceredigion Coast between Clarah and Cardigan, the Pembrokeshire Coast and areas at Crofty.

The two expired ones were for two estuaries on the south coast in Monmouthshire and the Usk Estuary.

Similar to ones in England they warn about the impact of high tides but also combine with “meteorological conditions”.

The warnings come as Britain has largely made it through its second heatwave in recent weeks.

Brits enjoying the hot weather as the Blackpool Airshow returned for the first time in three years on Sunday 14 August (Andrew Bartlett/Cover Images)

Following the record breaking temperatures of July, August saw the mercury rise once more and was hit with sweltering low to mid 30C temperatures for days on end.

On Saturday, hundreds of households in Surrey woke up without a water supply. Meanwhile three water companies – Welsh Water, Southern Water, and South East Water – have all imposed hosepipe bans, while Yorkshire Water has announced a ban will start on August 26 and Thames Water is planning one in the coming weeks.

Alongside that, the intense heat triggered a number of wildfires and on Friday night, fire crews in Derbyshire tackled a huge blaze, with four fire engines at the scene in Creswell, Worksop.

A firefighter works to contain a grass fire during a heatwave in Snodland, near Maidstone, Britain, August 14 (REUTERS)

Footage shared online showed flames filling the horizon and large plumes of smoke in the sky above a residential area.

But the next few days are expected to be defined by long-awaited downpours of rain. Whilst July saw some places in England get less than half a centimetre of rain, during the storms others could receive as much as 50mm in a matter of hours.