Weather warning: Yorkshire told to brace itself for heavy thunderstorms tonight

A WEATHER warning for heavy rain has been issued for Yorkshire tonight as lightning and thunderstorms hit the county.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Sep 2016, 19:52 BST
Updated 15th Sep 2016, 16:05 BST
A fallen tree blocks Long Lane, in Worrall, Sheffield during a thunderstorm, as whilst most of the UK soaks up the sun on the hottest day of the year, parts of the north are being blighted by torrential downpours and storms.A fallen tree blocks Long Lane, in Worrall, Sheffield during a thunderstorm, as whilst most of the UK soaks up the sun on the hottest day of the year, parts of the north are being blighted by torrential downpours and storms.
A fallen tree blocks Long Lane, in Worrall, Sheffield during a thunderstorm, as whilst most of the UK soaks up the sun on the hottest day of the year, parts of the north are being blighted by torrential downpours and storms.

While most of the UK soaked up the sun on the hottest day of the year, parts of the north are being blighted by torrential downpours and storms.

North-south divide as Indian summer gives way to thunderstorms here

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The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain for the North West, North East, Yorkshire and into parts of Scotland saying the deluge could cause flash flooding and travel disruption.

Sheffield faced up to a torrential downpour early in the evening, with the rain affecting the pre-match build-up to Sheffield Wednesday’s match against Bristol City at Hillsborough.

Meteorologist Mark Wilson said “there has been a lot of rain in a very short space of time” in the North West - along with “a lot” of thunder and lightning.

“Prestbury has had 32.4mm of rain in an hour - which is pretty exceptional,” he added. “The warning we put out does talk about the risk of up to 30mm in an hour.

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“There are some torrential downpours passing through parts of the country at the moment but they will ease probably in the next two hours.”

A fallen tree blocks Long Lane, in Worrall, Sheffield during a thunderstorm, as whilst most of the UK soaks up the sun on the hottest day of the year, parts of the north are being blighted by torrential downpours and storms.A fallen tree blocks Long Lane, in Worrall, Sheffield during a thunderstorm, as whilst most of the UK soaks up the sun on the hottest day of the year, parts of the north are being blighted by torrential downpours and storms.
A fallen tree blocks Long Lane, in Worrall, Sheffield during a thunderstorm, as whilst most of the UK soaks up the sun on the hottest day of the year, parts of the north are being blighted by torrential downpours and storms.

Manchester City’s Champions League clash with Borussia Monchengladbach has been postponed - with pictures showing huge amounts of water on the pitch.

A tweet from the club’s official account said: “It is absolutely belting down at the Etihad!”

Mr Wilson said the band of rain and thunderstorms looks set to push eastwards into Yorkshire and up to Scotland over the course of the night.

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He said a perfect combination of elements, including warm humid air, has caused the heavy rain and thunderstorms.

Heavy rain before the Champions League match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.Heavy rain before the Champions League match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.
Heavy rain before the Champions League match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.

Images of flooding in the deluge hit region of the North West have since been posted on social media sites.

One of the busy shopping area of Market Street in central Manchester appeared to show a large amount of water lapping up the side of a tram stop, in another cars were driving through huge puddles on roads, and a video appeared to show water cascading down an escalator at Manchester Piccadilly train station.

With the excess water causing chaos, Northern Rail also announced that “due to flooding between Todmorden and Blackburn all lines are blocked”.

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And on the M56 eastbound, Highways England said one lane was closed between junction three and one due to flooding.

A fallen tree blocks Long Lane, in Worrall, Sheffield during a thunderstorm, as whilst most of the UK soaks up the sun on the hottest day of the year, parts of the north are being blighted by torrential downpours and storms.A fallen tree blocks Long Lane, in Worrall, Sheffield during a thunderstorm, as whilst most of the UK soaks up the sun on the hottest day of the year, parts of the north are being blighted by torrential downpours and storms.
A fallen tree blocks Long Lane, in Worrall, Sheffield during a thunderstorm, as whilst most of the UK soaks up the sun on the hottest day of the year, parts of the north are being blighted by torrential downpours and storms.

Manchester Airport also tweeted saying: “The adverse weather continues to affect flights. Please contact your airlines for specific inquiries.”

Chaos also ensued on the Manchester Metrolink network with various lines suspended throughout the evening as the rain fell on the region. In a tweet the travel company provider said the weather affected their “comms, substations and trams”.

Related topics:YorkshireNorth WestSheffieldScotlandNorth East