Weather warning: Thunderstorms set to hit Lancashire

Thunderstorms are set to hit East Lancashire this afternoon and the thunder and lightning is predicted to last for several hours.

The Met Office yellow weather covers all parts of the region and is in place until 10pm tonight.  

Here is the Met Office weather forecast for East Lancashire, including details of exactly when the thundery conditions are set to roll in:

Met Office yellow weather warning for thunderstorms

According to the Met Office forecast, the heavy rain is set to give way to thunderstorms at around 2pm.

In some parts, the thunderstorms are expected to continue for several hours before changing to light rain by around 5-6pm.

Clear skies are predicted from around 10pm.

The whole of Lancashire is also included in the warning area, as well as Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Yorkshire, Northern Ireland, and most of the Midlands and Wales.

Here is the hour-by-hour forecast for Blackburn with Darwen:

11am: Heavy rain. 13°C

12pm: Heavy rain. 14°C

1pm: Light rain. 16 °C

2pm: Thundery conditions and rain. 16°C

3pm: Thundery conditions and rain. 16°C

4pm: Thundery conditions and rain. 17°C

5pm: Thundery conditions and rain. 16°C

6pm: Thundery conditions with sunny intervals. 16°C

7pm: Light rain and sunny intervals. 16°C

8pm: Light rain and sunny intervals. 15°C

9pm: Clear skies. 14°C

10pm: Clear skies. 14°C

11pm: Clear skies. 14°C

12am: Clear skies. 14°C

What is a yellow thunderstorm warning?

 According to the Met Office, this is what to expect with a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms:

• There is a good chance driving conditions will be affected by spray, standing water and/or hail, leading to longer journey times by car and bus
• Delays to train services are possible
• Some short term loss of power and other services is likely
• A chance of some flooding of homes and businesses or some damage to a few buildings or structures from lightning strikes.