Heatwave Peaks as Thunderstorms Loom for the Weekend
Friday was forecast to be the hottest day of Britain’s third heatwave, with temperatures expected to reach 35 to 36C in southern and eastern England under heat-health alerts that ran until this evening. A cooler, more unsettled spell is due to arrive over the weekend as fresher Atlantic air moves in, bringing a rising risk of heavy showers and thunderstorms, with the potential for downpours, lightning and gusty winds. Two more hosepipe bans, from Cambridge Water — its first in three decades — and Affinity Water, are now in force, part of a wave of restrictions across the country.
The break in the heat, when it comes, may arrive with a sting: the switch from a prolonged hot, dry spell to thundery downpours brings its own hazards, as rain falls on ground too hard and dry to absorb it, raising the risk of flash flooding, while lightning can spark the very wildfires the heat has primed. The spell now ending has been remarkable for its length — England has recorded an unprecedented run of days above 34C — and its legacy is a landscape drained of water, with reservoirs low enough that hosepipe bans now reach millions, including Cambridge Water’s first in thirty years. The deeper story is a system with too little slack meeting a climate delivering hotter, drier summers, and the argument over the water companies’ under-investment will only sharpen. Watch how far the weekend cooldown reaches, whether formal thunderstorm warnings are issued, and whether the Environment Agency moves to declare a drought.