Merseyside hit with biggest deluge as thunderstorm alert upgraded and extended

Heavy rain and hail fell on Saturday evening across the North West as an amber weather warning for thunderstorms across the UK was issued by the Met Office.

Up to 100mm of rain was expected in some parts of the country - the equivalent to a month’s worth of rain - but the most recorded was 21.8mm in Billinge Hill, Merseyside.

Amy Bokota, senior operational meteorologist at theMet Office, said the lower recording could have been due to where the gauges fell, and said areas in the North West would still have seen torrential rain and hail, while in other areas not too far away there were mostly clear skies.

An upgraded yellow warning for thunderstorms will remain in place for Merseyside from Sunday until 9pm on Monday, with lightning and more rain expected. Conditions look set to be at their worst around 5pm on Monday.

Heatwave: The alert comes after the UK saw its hottest day of the year on Saturday. Temperatures reached 28°C in Liverpool and topped out at 32°C in Chertsey, Surrey. It will remain warm in Merseyside this week with the sunshine returning on Monday and remaining until Saturday, when cloud cover is expected. The thermometer will remain at around 24°C but could peak at 26°C on Wednesday.

Thunderstorms: “As well as rain, additional hazards will be hail, strong gusts of wind, and lightning. Despite this, some places in the warning area will remain dry, or see only small amounts of rain, due to the scattered nature of the heaviest showers,” a spokesperson from the Met Office said.