Thunder expected in Wiltshire - what time will storms hit your town?

The Met Office has issued weather warnings for large swathes of the country, over the coming three days with thunderstorms and flooding expected in some parts of England.

In Wiltshire, a rainy weekend will replace the balmy start of the week, with thundery showers on the way.

And England’s much-anticipated Euro 2020 clash with Scotland at Wembley Stadium on Friday evening could be hit with bands of “heavy thundery showers,” forecasters say.

When will thunder hit Wiltshire?

According to forecasters, Sunday morning is when thunder storms will pass through the county:

Corsham, Melksham, Chippenham, Calne: Thundery showers due from 7am on Sunday, and to last around an hour.

Malmesbury, Devizes, Marlborough, Pewsey: Thunder is expected very early Sunday morning, between 6am and 8am - with heavy rain also present all morning.

Bradford on Avon Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster: No thunder forecast, but heavy rain due all weekend.

Swindon: Thundery showers and a moderate breeze expected early Sunday morning.

Yellow warning

The Met Office’s yellow warnings mean people could see flooding to homes and businesses, communities becoming “cut off”, power cuts and delays to public transport following heavy rainfall.

Strong winds and hail could also pose problems while the Met Office said lightning strikes could cause delays to train and bus services.

Road closures could also follow while motorists have been warned to expect poor driving conditions.

The thunderstorms are the result of a small, low-pressure system moving in from Europe, with warmer surface-level air meeting colder upper air.

However, most of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern parts of Wales are expected to escape the wet weather, with these areas avoiding the yellow weather warnings.

The Met Office is currently searching for storm names for the 2021/22 season and the British public are being called in to help by nominating a name.

Groups have been working together to name storms in recent years in order to help the media and public communicate more effectively.

Head of Civil Contingencies at the Met Office Will Lang said: “It’s great to go out to the UK public to get some suggestions of names. It’s incredibly important that everyone understands the potential impacts of severe weather and if having the public submit names for our next round of storms helps them engage in the subject then it’s a great way of raising awareness. 

“When storms come, we are obviously at the forefront of assessing its impacts on the people of the UK, and communicating that information succinctly is incredibly important during those times. That’s why storms need names, so people, the media and our meteorologists can better speak about potential impacts when a storm is in the forecast.  

“Name our storms is also a great example of international collaboration and we look forward to working further with Met Éireann and KNMI during the next storm season to help keep the public safe.”