UK weather: Met Office issues thunderstorm warnings for southern England and South Wales
The Met Office has issued warnings for rain and thunderstorms – with the alerts in place until Thursday morning.
The first warning began at 8pm and covers an area stretching from Portsmouth to Plymouth, and northwards to South Wales, and lasts until 8am.
Heavy rain is expected, with a chance of thunderstorms, and the Met Office said it could bring difficult driving conditions and some flooding.
The second warning kicks in at 11pm and covers nearly all of southeast England, stretching as far north as Oxford and including London. It’s in force until 6am on Thursday.
“Thunderstorms are likely at times later this evening and overnight, leading to travel disruption and some flooding,” said the Met Office.
There will be a risk of sudden flooding and power blackouts in both affected warning areas, added the forecaster.
There’s also a chance of hail and strong winds.
Flooding and lightning strikes could cause disruption on the roads, as well as delays and cancellations to rail and bus services.
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Around 2cm to 4cm of rain is expected overnight, with 5cm possible in some places.
“Much of this rain may fall over a two or three-hour period,” the Met Office said.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said: “You may well get woken up tonight by a rumble of thunder, or some flashes of lightning across parts of the South.
“A lot of heavy rain falling in a short space of time as well.”
He said it could create a lot of spray and surface water on the roads for commuters on Thursday morning.
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Elsewhere, it will stay dry with temperatures mostly holding up in double figures across England and Wales, or staying at around 8C to 9C in towns and cities further north.
Deakin said: “A cloudy start then to Thursday one way or another, still some heavy bursts of rain early on across the South West.
“That should tend to clear away, but always the likelihood of further showers across southern parts of England, Mid and South Wales.”
He added: “Parts of northwest Scotland, Northern Ireland, northwest England, much of the Midlands down towards East Anglia should have a fine and sunny day tomorrow.”
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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