Risk of soggy lunches as thunderstorms threaten to dampen Platinum Jubilee

Sunday will conclude the four days of events.
Crowds on The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace, following the Trooping the Colour ceremony in central London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
PA Wire
Catherine Wylie4 June 2022

A weather warning for thunderstorms is set to dampen the Platinum Jubilee with the risk of soggy lunches on the final day of celebrations.

The Met Office has a yellow warning in place for thunderstorms across much of England and Wales from midnight until 6pm on Sunday evening.

Forecasters said the weather may cause travel disruption, with flooding possible in some areas.

Heavy rain, and potentially even hail, will batter down on day four of Platinum Jubilee events.

Torrential downpours are likely in a few places with parts of the Midlands, East Anglia and southeast England most at risk.

The Met Office said some places could see 15-20mm in an hour, and even up to 50mm.

The thunderstorms will slowly spread into southern parts of northern England on Sunday morning before easing.

Further south, drier conditions are expected to briefly develop on Sunday morning before further showers and thunderstorms develop over some parts of southern England, Wales, the Midlands and East Anglia later.

Royal superfan Donna Werner, from the US, puts on a rain cover on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, on Tuesday (Aaron Chown/PA)
PA Wire

On Saturday, a yellow warning for thunderstorms is in place for parts of southwest England until the early afternoon.

Met Office meteorologist Steven Keates said he would not rule out rain for Saturday night’s Party At The Palace in central London.

“There’s a potential for a shower there,” he said, adding: “I think the shower risk overall is low, but the later we go into the evening that shower risk does come up.”

Diana Ross, Queen + Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, Hans Zimmer, George Ezra, and Eurovision 2022 runner-up Sam Ryder are among the celebrity acts preparing to entertain a live crowd of 22,000 people in the front of Buckingham Palace.

Friday brought sudden, heavy downpours to Wales, with the seaside town of Criccieth receiving 92mm of rain in just six hours.

Homes and businesses were left damaged and some roads impassable while many were celebrating the Jubilee.

Scotland recorded its warmest day of the year on Friday at 21.6C (71F).

The mercury is expected to continue rising north of the border to a high of 23C (73.4F) in the West Highlands on Saturday, with sunshine expected.

The good weather is set to continue in Scotland with more sun and dry conditions on Sunday.

Saturday is expected to bring warm temperatures of around 19C (66.2F) and sunshine for Northern Ireland, with a bit of cloud towards the south.

Cloud will arrive in southern parts of Northern Ireland on Sunday, potentially carrying a risk of rain.

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