Thunderstorms bring heatwave to an end with a bang

Spectacular thunderstorms gave people across Coventry and Warwickshire a rude awakening this morning.



After a few late-night rumbles, the storms kicked off at about 4.30am and are expected to continue through much of the day.

Emergency services say a lightning strike in Birmingham has caused signalling problems between Coventry and New Street.

Trains to and from Manchester Piccadilly are also affected by a similar problem.

The Met Office has issued a yellow “be aware” warning for the West Midlands with more heavy thundery rain, hail and strong winds set to cause localised flooding and disruption.

Firefighters urged drivers to be careful after the weather conditions caused a crash in Coventry.

Crews from Canley were called to the A45 Fletchamstead Highway, near its junction with Broad Lane, where a Vauxhall Astra had skidded off the road and into a tree.

The driver was taken to hospital.

West Midlands Fire Service said roads were extra greasy when it rained after a long dry spell.

The storms come after the longest heatwave in the UK for seven years, and at the start of the school summer holidays.

Andy Page, chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: "The UK has seen a particularly dry warm spell of late but this week will see a big change for many.

"From Tuesday we will see more widespread showers and thunderstorms across many parts.

"The public are advised to keep up to date with our forecasts and warnings."

After highs of 30C over the past few days, temperatures will fall to the low to mid-20s for the rest of the week.

Steve Jackson, of Coventry’s Bablake Weather Station, said yesterday: “With the jet stream heading back south, and an unstable atmosphere and fronts encroaching from the west, it might just go bang this week.”

Figures from Bablake show the first week of July was the warmest and driest since 2010, but with an average temperature of 14.3C, it was the second coolest June in Coventry since 1999.