Emergency crews on standby after forecasts of possible flash flood

Hot, Sunny, Thundery And Flash Floods

Wastewater company United Utilities is placing additional emergency crews on standby after forecasts of possible flash flood for this weekend.

The water utility responded to the Met Office’s Yellow Alert by making sure watermen across Greater Manchester are ready to cope with storms and downpours.

They will ensure around 12,500 km of sewer pipes keep flowing smoothly and 48 treatment works can treat millions of gallons of additional surface water.

Forecasters are not sure exactly where the heaviest of rain will fall in the north of England, but say the downpours would be torrential.

The company’s acted after predictions a new weather pattern moving into the UK from the south will bring wet and humid weather tonight, which is expected to erupt into thundery downpours by the early hours of tomorrow.

Company spokesman Sean Robinson said: “All non-essential work will be cleared to ensure that if parts of Manchester are hit by these freak flash rains we’re in a position to respond and keep the sewers flowing.”

The Environment Agency has also said there is a risk of localised flooding over the weekend as a result of intense rainfall.

In a severe weather warning, the Met Office said on its website: "Areas of heavy, thundery showers will develop over England and Wales from Friday night before moving northwards into Scotland during Saturday.

"The location of these is uncertain but where they do form some torrential downpours are possible with frequent lightning, large hail and locally strong gusts. Significant flooding is possible where these do occur from surface water as well as from small, fast responding watercourses.

"The frequent lightning, large hail and strong gusts could also be an additional hazard."

The hottest spots in the UK also look set to be warmer than European holiday resorts such as Crete (30C) and Ibiza (29C).

Temperatures in other parts of England could be warmer than Hawaii and The Bahamas.