Torrential storms hit north-east and south Wales and south-west England put on alert but south-east will go on baking, writes Alexandra Topping and agencies, Thursday 2 July 2009 at http://www.guardian.co.uk.
Forwarded by Budhi Mulyawan 020709.

Dublin saw heavy downpours resulting in flooding

Parts of the UK are braced for flash floods as the heatwave that has swept much of the country in the past week comes to a dramatic end in some areas. After one of the hottest weeks in years, north-east England was hit by torrential thunderstorms today with the Environment Agency warning that south Wales and south-west England would also be hit by flash floods.

The Met Office continued to warn of very hot weather in other areas of the country, however, with very high temperatures expected again today in the south-east before dropping at the weekend.

Nigel Bolton, forecaster at the Met Office, said that temperatures would remain well above average in the south east. "We will still see very high temperatures today, up to 32C in Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. The average temperature for this time of year is around 23C, though we are unlikely to see record temperatures, which reached 36C in both 1976 and 2003." The country remains at heatwave level three.

Areas further north would also see high temperatures with Glasgow likely to register 26-27C while some areas of the highlands would see temperatures up to 28-29C, he said.

The west of the country looked likely to see very different weather, however. "In the south-west, Wales, parts of Ireland and central and western Scotland we will see scattered heavy thunderstorms, and some localised torrential downpours, with up to 25-30mm of rainfall in an hour and large hail in some places," he said. There were flash flood warnings in place in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset in south-west England, and northern Ireland, he added. "There are risks of isolated floods in the western part of the UK as the atmosphere is very unsettled."

Footage on YouTube today revealed that Dublin had also seen heavy downpours resulting in flooding.

The heatwave was likely to continue throughout today and into tomorrow in the rest of the country, but temperatures would begin to drop by tomorrow to around 26-28 degrees in the south-east. "For most there will be a sense of relief from the heat tomorrow and into the weekend, with temperatures down to more pleasant levels."

The weekend would see a more typical mix of British weather, Bolton said, with sunshine and showers and temperatures continuing to ease.

The current weather is the hottest since July 2006, with yesterday the hottest of the year so far at 31.8C. The heatwave plan alert is in four stages, with green level one signalling "summer preparedness and long-term planning". Level two is amber and signals "alert and readiness", while three is red for "heatwave action" and four is classed as "red emergency".

The London Ambulance Service said it had seen a busy few days treating large numbers of patients for breathing problems, chest pains, loss of consciousness and fainting and urged people to call for an ambulance only in a genuine emergency.

The storms have already hit in some areas, such as the north-east where police closed the A68 in both directions after a storm hit the Rowley Bridge area near Consett, County Durham, causing part of the bridge to collapse.

Despite warnings, the heatwave has already claimed victims. West Yorkshire police were called to Widdop Reservoir, near Hebden Bridge, yesterday afternoon after a teenager disappeared as he was swimming with friends. Police divers were called and a body was found at about 6.20pm following a four-hour search. The teenager who died has not been named but is understood to be from London.

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