UK weather: Trains delayed and care home hit by lightning after overnight thunderstorms
A night of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms has caused travel delays and damaged a care home in West Sussex.
Thunderstorms hit southeast England overnight – with a Met Office warning in place until 10am.
In southwest England and Wales a similar storm warning was in place until 8am Thursday morning.
However, the wet weather may be sandwiched between two of the hottest days of 2024 so far.
The Met Office thunderstorm warnings. Pic: Met Office
Overnight, two buildings in Sussex were damaged by lightning strikes, according to West Sussex Fire & Rescue.
A care home in Elmer, West Sussex, was struck, causing damage to its roof, and a university building in Chichester sustained damage to its roof and power system.
The service confirmed that no one was injured and occupants were relocated while the damage was assessed.
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Pic: @WestSussexFire
Lightning above Worthing
There were travel delays on South Western Railway trains after the stormy weather, causing delays between Axminster and Honiton expected to last until at least 11am on Thursday.
This has affected trains running into London Waterloo, from as far as Exeter St David’s.
The Met Office warned the storms overnight may trigger travel disruption leading into Thursday’s rush hour, causing “difficult driving conditions and some road closures”.
There is also a chance of possible cancellations to public transport, as well as power cuts.
Temperatures could reach 24C
Marco Petagna, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said that some places could see the warmest weather of the year on Thursday, with temperatures reaching as high as 24C.
This comes after Wednesday saw temperatures peak at their highest of the year so far as well, at 22.1C.
However, even as it becomes warmer, more thunderstorms could come on Thursday afternoon.
“After a night of storms, the rain will ease in the south of England for a while,” Mr Petagna said.
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“We could see the skies brightening up in a few places and it will be another warm day.
“Parts of the southeast could even get to 24C and beat Wednesday’s temperatures.
“But as the skies brighten and temperatures increase, this could spark a few more thundery showers in the afternoon, so it is likely to still be a bit unsettled and the forecast will be changeable over the next few days.”
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Looking ahead to the Bank Holiday weekend, Mr Petagna said the forecast was a “very mixed picture”.
Most of the UK is likely to experience some rain, but temperatures will remain fairly warm in the mid to late teens.
Wednesday was the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures peaking at 22.1C in Santon Downham, in Suffolk, and reaching 21.9C in Aultbea, in the northwest Highlands.
However, other parts of the UK saw temperatures over 10C lower in some coastal areas – in Inverbervie, northeast Scotland, temperatures only peaked at 9.9C.
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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