28/07/2006

Thunderstorms forecast for UK

The recent heatwave in the UK has ended with a series of thunderstorms across the south and east of England and predictions of further storms and more rain across the country.

More thunderstorms have been forecast in the south and east of England on Friday, following a series of torrential storms in south-east England and East Anglia on Thursday night.

The bad weather led to dozens of flights being cancelled at Stansted airport on Thursday night, although no major delays are predicted for Friday.

There were also reports of a house in Norfolk catching fire after being hit by lightning, while lightning also struck a house in Southampton, narrowly missing a seven-year-old girl who escaped with just a small scorch mark on her arm.

There were also a series of blackouts in central London due to power supply problems, which led to calls for people to turn down air conditioning units in order to reduce demand.

Showers have been forecast across Scotland and Northern Ireland on Friday, while the rain is expected to move into Wales and western England on Saturday.

However, temperatures are expected to remain high over the weekend, although they are expected to fall to between 19C to 25C, which are more 'normal' for the time of year.

(KMcA/SP)

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