Met Office issues 11-hour thunderstorm warning for Surrey

The Met Office has issued Surrey with a yellow thunderstorm warning for Saturday (August 5), along with London and much of the Southeast. It comes as Storm Antoni is set to sweep across the UK bringing “atrocious” and “wholly unpleasant” weather that may cause flooding and travel disruption.

The Met Office warned at 8am (August 5): “A yellow weather warning has just come into effect across southern and southwestern parts of the UK.” This will be in place from 11am and last until 10pm with “heavy showers” expected that “may lead to some flooding and travel disruption”.

The forecaster continued that homes and businesses could be at risk of flooding and said: “There is a good chance driving conditions will be affected by spray, standing water, and/or hail, leading to longer journey times.” It was also suggested loose items outside homes such as bins and trampolines are secured.

Chief meteorologist at the Met Office, Steve Willington, said: “Storm Antoni will bring some potentially disruptive weather on Saturday as it moves from west to east.” The RAC’s Rod Dennis added that Saturday is expected to be “the worst day on the roads of the summer so far” and described conditions as “atrocious” with a “wholly unpleasant mix of very strong winds and locally intense rainfall.”

The 11-hour warning covers the majority of the southeast and east coast of England from Brighton round to Norfolk. It also includes London and stretches north to Peterborough and west to Bristol. A yellow warning for wind is also in place for Brighton and parts of Hampshire.

The Met Office advised that if people need to drive they should decrease their speed, use main roads, leave a bigger gap between vehicles, and give themselves more time to react on slippery surfaces. The warnings in the south of England come after amber warnings were issued for parts of the southwest and southern Wales. Storm Antoni is the first named UK storm since February 2022.

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References

1. ^{^} First look at Gatwick’s two-runway expansion plans that would double its capacity (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
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