European heat and humidity spark severe storms by Kaye Forster
The heat and humidity have been steadily building yet again across Europe over the past few days and eventually resulted in the development of severe thunderstorms during Wednesday afternoon and night. The pattern in which the storms developed was almost a repeat performance of that seen during last weekend.
As reported here in recent days many parts of Europe are also in the grip of a heatwave. In Paris, France, temperatures soared up to the high 30’s in Celsius and thunderstorms were soon triggered during Wednesday evening. Almost an inch of rain (23mm) fell in Paris in just 6 hours.
The storms, packed with large hail, gusty winds and dramatic lightning bolts, slowly edged northwards. In Normandy six houses were devastated by lightning. Luckily no-one was injured.
After crossing the English Channel, the storms then made headway across southern parts of England. A house in Southampton was struck by lightning during the early hours of Thursday morning, ripping a huge hole in its roof.
Moving up through Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Midlands, reports came in thick and fast of torrential rain, large hail and localised flooding.
The county worst hit by the storms was Lincolnshire. Almost an inch of rain was recorded in a very short space of time which led to flash flooding in many areas. In Gainsborough shopkeepers were forced to use sandbags to try to keep the rising waters at bay, and almost 7000 people were left without electricity. A house was also set alight after being struck by lightning.
Further thundery showers are forecast for central, southern and eastern parts of England this afternoon, with the end of the extreme heat and humidity forecast this weekend.
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