8:00pm UK weather news LIVE: Hottest September EVER forecast after record ‘polar plunge’ Bank Holiday washout – LATEST

• Les Steedjust now

  RAIN TO CONTINUE UNTIL MIDNIGHT ACROSS MOST OF ENGLAND

  The rain and drizzle is expected to last across England until it sweeps across the Channel to France and Belgium over the course of tomorrow.

  There will be particularly strong patches of rain drifting across the South coast and Isle of Wight.

  A patch will be shifting down over London from the midlands through to tomorrow morning but hopefully that will clear up from midday tomorrow.

• Les Steed30 minutes ago

  GOODWOOD RACES WASHOUT

  Heavy rain fell at Goodwood Racecourse in Chichester, England this afternoon, leaving the socially distanced benches soaking.

  Owners are allowed to attend if they have a runner at the meeting, otherwise racing remains behind closed doors to the public due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

  Photocredit: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

• Les Steed57 minutes ago

  DELIVERY SERVICES TAKE ON NATIONAL POTHOLE MENACE

  Delivery services including Deliveroo, Uber, Tesco, and Ocado are helping the government map pothole hot spots in England.

  The Department for Transport will also work with Gaist, a road data and mapping company, to assess which areas need the greatest attention.

  Potholes cost British motorists an estimated £4 billion in repairs every year, making them a seasonal headache for the government and local councils.

  Figures from the RAC show the breakdown company received 1,766 call-outs for vehicles damaged by faulty road surfaces between April and June this year alone.

  Potholes start to form when water gets into the foundation below the road surface, then freezes, breaking the softened layer of asphalt apart under the pressure of vehicles driving over the area.

• Les SteedToday, 18:49

  HEART BREAKING PICS EMERGE OF HURRICANE LAURA DEVASTATION

  One of the strongest storms to hit the US has killed six and destroyed towns as it smashed into the Gulf Coast.

  People in Lake Charles, Louisiana, have been picking the pieces of their houses up after Hurricane Laura devastated their community.

  More than 750,000 homes and businesses lost power across Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana as the storm petered out overnight.

  In one case an Auto Zone auto parts store had the roof blown off and its contents thrashed around leaving barely anything standing.

  Images by Reuters show the carnage caused by the storm.

• Les SteedToday, 18:18

  10 KILLED BY LIGHTNING STRIKES

  Ten kids have been killed after being hit by lightening during a footy game in Uganda.

  Nine of the young teenaged victims were killed instantly when the grass hut they were sheltering from the rain in was hit by a massive bolt.

  The latest victim died on his way to hospital, while three others are receiving treatment at the regional hospital of the city of Arua.

  More on this here

• Les SteedToday, 17:33

  WATERSPOUT FORMING OFF KENT COAST

  Kent is seeing some extreme weather today with a waterspout forming in the distance of Deal Pier according to local reports.

  Stuart Kingsnorth, who took a photo of the looming vortex described the weather on the South East coast as “like the apocalypse down here at the moment” as hail is thundering down on the public.

  A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex that usually appears as a funnel-shaped cloud that occurs over a body of water, like a whirlwind.

• Samantha LockToday, 16:56

  TRAIN SERVICES CANCELLED BETWEEN LONDON & SOUTH COAST

  Torrential rain has caused a landslide with tons of earth slipping on to the track.

  It happened at Micheldever in Hampshire and led to the cancellation of a number of South Western Railway services between London Waterloo and the south coast.

  Passengers have been offered replacement bus services operating between Basingstoke and Southampton, whilst CrossCountry services were diverted via Salisbury.

  Other services from the New Forest and Dorset were re-routed via Havant.

  An SWR spokesman said: “Tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on Cross Country trains between Basingstoke and Southampton Central. These trains will divert via Salisbury.

  “For further information or onward travel advice please speak to a member of staff or use a station help point.

  “We are very sorry for any delay that this may cause to your journey.”

• Samantha LockToday, 16:40

  CORNWALL ‘FULL’ AMIND BANK HOL GETAWAY FLOODS

  Tourism chiefs have warned staycationers that Cornwall is FULL after traffic today ground to a halt and the county was hit with flash floods.

  Brits who don’t have a confirmed booking are urged to keep away for the bank holiday weekend as roads are hit by major delays.

  Roads have been flooded with water after heavy downpours with around three feet of water flooding some areas, leaving main roads underwater.

  The disruption comes as 5.6million people get behind the wheel to make the most of the weekend, with queues already building on the M25, as well as a number of major roads in the West Country.

  Assistant Chief Constable Glen Mayhew, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “Planning any journey to Devon and Cornwall is hugely important.

  “If you travel without booking accommodation first you are unlikely to be able to find any in the region when you arrive.”

• Samantha LockToday, 16:25

  BRITAIN BUFFETED BY HURRICANE LAURA NEXT WEEK

  Laura’s tail end is set to buffet Britain with 60mph gales and washouts next week as floods threaten – after the storm battered the USA.

  The Met Office said remnants of the tropical tempest, which had 150mph winds and killed six in Louisiana, is set to merge with another low pressure system and affect Britain on Wednesday and Thursday.

  Met Office forecaster Bonnie Diamond said: “Remnants of Hurricane Laura are expected to be absorbed into an Atlantic low pressure system which is likely to come close to the UK on Wednesday and Thursday.

  “Wet and windy weather is expected, mainly in the West, but there is uncertainty and we will provide more detail as confidence increases.”

• Samantha LockToday, 16:07

  HURRICANE LAURA ADDS TO UNCERTAINTY IN UK WEATHER

  Hurricane Laura battered the Louisiana coast on Thursday as forecasters predict the storm will be the most powerful hurricane to hit the US so far this year.

  Now the weather system is heading to the Atlantic with forecasters predicting the ex hurricane will add to the uncertainty in UK weather for next week.

  “The end of next week could contain the remnants of the ex hurricane …. because it’s such a small bundle of energy it introduces a lot of uncertainty into the forecast,” the Met Office warned.

• Samantha LockToday, 15:25

  SATURDAY FORECAST

  The weather will calm down a little for Bank Holiday Weekend.

  Some showery and windy conditions will persist in the east on Saturday.

• Niamh CavanaghToday, 14:29

  PICTURED – TOURISTS ENJOY CAMBRIDGE UNDER BROLLYS

• Niamh CavanaghToday, 13:57

  MORE THUNDERSTORMS BREAK ACROSS COUNTRY

  According to the Met Office, more thunderstorms are breaking now as we enter into the warmest part of the day.

• Niamh CavanaghToday, 13:40

  PICTURED – DARK CLOUDS ROLL IN OVER BARTON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE AHEAD OF THE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND

• Samantha LockToday, 13:08

  Have you heard any thunder today where you are? ⛈️

  Heavy showers have developed across England & Wales this morning and a few of them are starting to produce some #thunder & #lightning – check out the radar loop👇#thunderstorms pic.twitter.com/NusKrGLQIf

  — Met Office (@metoffice) August 28, 2020

• Samantha LockToday, 12:45

  LIVE UK WEATHER MAP

• Samantha LockToday, 11:56

  WEEKEND WASHOUT

• Samantha LockToday, 11:40

  DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS

  Localised flooding may create travel disruptions and treacherous driving conditions.

  Meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “There will be some localised flooding perhaps, but also really quite treacherous driving conditions.

  “It’s during the intense downpours that we’re quite likely to see some surface water flooding in a few places and again really quite difficult driving conditions.

  “Obviously, it’s the Friday before the bank holiday weekend, so lots of people will be planning to take to the roads and so they do need to be aware that even if they’re enjoying sunny spells at one moment a hefty shower could come along very quickly and make conditions very, very difficult.”

  The RAC said 18 million car journeys would be taken this weekend as families enjoy last minute staycations and day-trips before schools return.

  Today is expected to see the largest volume of cars on the road with an estimated 5.6m separate trips planned.

• Samantha LockToday, 11:29

  TEMPS PLUNGE

  The heatwave at the beginning of the month will feel like a long distant memory as temperatures plunge – with forecasters expecting the mercury to fall to single figures overnight.

  Temperatures are likely to remain in the teens for vast swathes, with a maximum of just 20C expected in the south.

  Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, Frank Saunders, said: “It’ll feel quite cool despite the sunshine, as northerly winds bring below average temperatures for the time of year with highs of around 16 to 18 Celsius. 

  “At night it’ll feel really quite chilly, with temperatures dropping to single figures for most, and a chance of air frost in Scottish glens.”

• Samantha LockToday, 11:20

  RAIN OVER YORKSHIRE

  The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for today with rain set to continue over parts of Yorkshire and Teesside.

• Samantha LockToday, 11:09

  HALF OF MONTHLY RAINFALL IN 3 HOURS

  A “biblical” deluge is predicted ahead of a Bank Holiday Weekend washout.

  The country is due to be battered with almost half of August’s average rainfall in just three hours today.

  In a yellow weather warning issued by the Met Office, the south of the country could see up to 40mm of rainfall in a few hours.

  Meteorologist Alex Burkill said that “persistent rain” had already hit affected areas, with 44mm falling on St Columb in Cornwall in the six hours up to 2pm on Thursday.

  Plymouth City Council described the downpour as “biblical” as around three feet of water flooded some areas, leaving main roads underwater.

• Samantha LockToday, 10:51

  LIVE UK WEATHER MAP

• Samantha LockToday, 10:42

  CLOUD & RAIN

  Commenting on the weather following Bank Holiday Monday, Deputy Chief Meteorologist Chris Tubbs, said: “Later on Monday low-pressure will once again start to edge it’s way in from the Atlantic and it’ll turn cloudier with outbreaks of rain for Northern Ireland, with cloud and rain spreading to the rest of the UK by Tuesday.

  “It’s likely to stay unsettled into the remainder of next week as we begin meteorological Autumn, with spells of wind and strong winds at times.”

• Samantha LockToday, 10:17

  CHILLY WEEKEND NIGHTS AHEAD

  Below average temperatures are expected across the UK this weekend.

  Sunday will bring a chilly start to the day, warming up later but still colder than average.

  “As we head into the weekend the weather will turn drier and brighter with easing winds,” the Met Office predicts.

  “Temperatures will fall below average though, with some noticeably chilly nights expected.”

• Samantha LockToday, 10:00

  As we head towards the end of the week and into the weekend the overnight temperatures will become progressively colder 🌡🥶 pic.twitter.com/FjTKgLxAeS

  — Met Office (@metoffice) August 27, 2020

Load more entries…