Thunderstorms expected in West Berkshire from Thursday
Met Office cautions of poor conditions in West Berkshire
The Met Office has issued nationwide thunderstorm warnings, with West Berkshire falling under the yellow alert warning for Thursday and Friday.
The initial storm, affecting South West England, Wales and western Scotland, is expected to hit around 4pm tomorrow and last until 9am on Friday.
The Met Office has warned that there is a small chance of homes and businesses flooding quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds. And where this occurs, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services.
Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures, with a small chance that some communities could be cut off by flooded roads.
A slight chance of power cuts has also be forecast and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.
The storms are set to hit as a level two heatwave has also been issued for the district between today (Wednesday) and Friday.
Temperatures are set to hit 30 degrees centigrade in Newbury tomorrow and 25 degrees centigrade on Friday.
West Berkshire Council has said that Covid-19 amplifies the risks of hot weather to vulnerable groups of people and
heatwaves can be especially dangerous for the very young, the very old, or those with chronic disease.
The council's Public Health team has issued the following advice to help keep people safe.
People are encouraged to
- Stay tuned to the weather forecast
- Check ambient room temperatures – especially those rooms where disabled or high risk individuals spend most of their time
- Keep an eye on people who you know to be at risk – ensure they have access to plenty of cool liquids
- Look out for vulnerable neighbours
Advice on how to reduce the risk can be found on the NHS website at www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/heatwave-how-to-cope-in-hot-weather, by calling NHS 111 or from your local chemist.
Specific resources for heat risk and Covid-19 have been developed and are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heatwave-plan-for-england
