The Met Office has urged Britons to charge their smartphones today - with powerline and flood-threatening thunderstorms set to strike swathes of the UK. The UK has soaked up days of sweltering sunshine and high temperatures in recent days with the mercury hitting 25C but now the blue skies are set to turn to "vigorous" dark thunderstorms.
The unsettled conditions are expected to be accompanied by heavy rainfall, lightning and hail, with the forecaster predicting that on Monday May 12th - from 12pm-10pm - will see the worst of the storms. And as part of their warning, the Met Office has urged Britons to charge their smartphones now - in case floodwater forces you to evacuate your home or powerlines are hit by lightning strikes.
The main areas affected are North-West England, London and the south east, the West and East Midlands, Wales and the south west of England.
With a yellow thunderstorms warning in place, Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Dan Harris said: "On Monday we could see some particularly vigorous thunderstorms developing.
"Should these thunderstorms develop, especially on Monday, there is potential for 25-35mm of rain to fall in an hour or so which may lead to some localised surface water flooding. Hail, lightening, and isolated strong wind gusts would be additional hazards."
Today's specific yellow warning from the Met Office advices that in the case of flooding in the 24 hours we should follow "these 6 simple steps to protect your home or business" - including "charge mobile phone devices; park your car outside the flood zone; prepare a flood kit; store valuables high in your home; turn off gas, water and elctricity supplies and check local flood advice to see when flooding may occur."
The Met Office also warns that lightning strikes could affect the power grid - so make sure you have "battery candles, torches and batteries and a mobile phone power pack."
They also advice Britons in power cut-affected areas to leave a light switch on - so you know when the power has been restored.
On Tuesday, the showers are expected to be cleared away with much of the UK back and by Wednesday the majority of nation will be back to bright sunny days that should remain throughout the week.
Look to see if your region is affected by Monday's thunderstorms:
EAST MIDLANDS:
Northamptonshire
East of England
Central Bedfordshire
Essex
Hertfordshire
Luton
Thurrock
LONDON AND SOUTH EAST ENGLAND:
Bracknell Forest
Buckinghamshire
Greater London
Hampshire
Kent
Medway
Milton Keynes
Oxfordshire
Reading
Slough
Surrey
West Berkshire
Windsor and Maidenhead
Wokingham
NORTH WEST ENGLAND:
Cheshire East
Cheshire West and Chester
SOUTH WEST ENGLAND:
Bath and North East Somerset
Bristol
Cornwall
Devon
Gloucestershire
North Somerset
Somerset
South Gloucestershire
Swindon
Wiltshire
WALES:
Blaenau Gwent
Bridgend
Caerphilly
Cardiff
Carmarthenshire
Ceredigion
Conwy
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Gwynedd
Isle of Anglesey
Merthyr Tydfil
Monmouthshire
Neath Port Talbot
Newport
Pembrokeshire
Powys
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Swansea
Torfaen
Vale of Glamorgan
Wrexham
WEST MIDLANDS:
Herefordshire
Shropshire
Staffordshire
Stoke-on-Trent
Telford and Wrekin
Warwickshire
West Midlands Conurbation
Worcestershire
