Wimbledon washout! Rain comes down to stop play in SW19 and at the cricket as Met Office says massive thunderstorms are on their way
- Follow MailSport’s live blog on Wimbledon as Katie Boulter takes to Centre Court
Tennis fans are still in good spirits despite a washout at Wimbledon – as the Met Office warns of massive thunderstorms later today.
Matches have been suspended across Wimbledon’s courts and tennis fans have been forced to take cover beneath umbrellas or huddle together in raincoats. A few brave fans remained sat in their seats.
Katie Boulter is the star of today’s matches as she takes on Elena Rybakina, while Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev are also in action.
The wet weather has also damped spirits at the third Ashes Test at Headingley.
The game is finely poised with Australia leading by 142 runs in their second innings, four wickets down after an England flurry last night.
The covers had come off in the morning but were out back on when the rain returned.
Also taking place this weekend is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, but today’s downpours could make Lewis Hamilton’s dreams of a record ninth win at his home track even more difficult.
Matches have been suspended across Wimbledon’s courts and tennis fans have been forced to take cover beneath umbrellas
A few brave fans remained sat in their seats while most people searched for cover
Play at Headingley has been paused after heavy downpours disrupt the third day
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for today and the forecaster has predicted thundery downpours
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the third free practice at the British Formula One Grand Prix at the Silverstone
The UK Health Security Agency has also issued a yellow heat-health alert through to 9am tomorrow for six regions, including London.
Meanwhile temperatures are set to climb to 30C in parts of the country today, prompting the UK Health Security Agency to issue a yellow heat-health alert from Friday through to Sunday for six regions: London, the South East, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Simon Partridge, Met Office forecaster, said: ‘On Saturday we’ve got very warm, very muggy, very humid air across the UK, we now have this cold front which is just starting to move into the warm muggy air.
‘Thunderstorms started from about 7am, there’s been very heavy downpours already, we’re expecting it to continue throughout the afternoon, the main focus will be the north of the Midlands.
‘Heavy downpours are possible, particularly if you get two or three together in the space of a couple of hours.
‘There is the potential for up to 50mm of rain in a few spots, most likely heavy downpours and difficult driving conditions.
‘We will be keeping an eye on it in case there’s a need to upgrade the warning this afternoon to amber.’
A yellow thunderstorm warning means heavy showers are expected over parts of the UK, meaning homes could be flooded and buildings could be damaged.
Tennis spectators queuing at the All England Lawn Tennis club are caught in rain showers on day six of the championship
Heavy rain has disrupted play at the championship
Britons can expect a chance of delays and some cancellations to public transport services.
Also in place are 37 flood warnings across the country, advising people to be prepared for further disruption.
In addition, the high temperatures mean people should take ‘sensible precautions’ while out in the sun and should take care to check on people around them who may be vulnerable in the heat.
Most areas will continue to experience widespread showers on Monday and Tuesday, the Met Office said.
A Met Office yellow warning for thunderstorms means there is a small chance homes and businesses could be flooded quickly and communities cut off by floodwater, while spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions.
Meanwhile, sunworshippers keen to get a tan risked a £1,000 fine by camping on Bournemouth’s beaches overnight.
Overnight camping on any beaches in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is banned, along with open fires and fire pits at any time of the year. But some visitors risked the fine to catch rays early this morning.
Their efforts, however, may go to waste due to the predicted rain and thunder.
People keen to enjoy the rays will be disappointed today as the Met Office has warned of thunderstorms and rain
Sunworshippers risked a £1,000 fine by camping on beach overnight in Bournemouth
Walkers were out early at Durley Chine this morning to catch sunny spells
The start of day three of the third Ashes Test at Headingley has been delayed due to rain
Grounds staff pull out the rain covers ahead of day three of the LV= Insurance Ashes Series test match at Headingley
It comes after people flocked to beaches and parks to enjoy 30C temperatures yesterday.
The heat was so intense at Wimbledon on Friday afternoon that some spectators collapsed.
Tennis fans were carried away by ambulance crews while others were spotted fanning themselves as the grass baked on the fifth day of the tennis tournament in south-west London.
Elsewhere across the country, people flocked to parks and beaches to soak up the warm weather.
Others enjoyed barbeques in the hot sun at Lincoln’s Inn Fields and Wimbledon Common in London, while others relaxed on the beach in the hot weather in Ruislip Lido and Cleethorpes.
The Dorset holiday hotspots of Weymouth and Lyme Regis were both packed with sunseekers as a plume of warm air drifting in from the continent produced perfect beach weather.
British holidaymakers in Spain should brace for a ‘Level 1 heat alert’ that could see temperatures hit a blistering 42C degrees by Tuesday.
The hardest hit areas will be the Balearic Islands of Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera and Cabrera, according to Spain’s meteorological agency, AEMET.
It comes after experts revealed that Monday was the world’s hottest day since records began, with the average global temperature soaring to 17.01°C (62.62°F), a jump from the 16.92°C (62.46°F) high recorded in August 2016.
Tuesday was 0.17C hotter, according to University of Maine scientists at the Climate Reanalyser project.
Friday was definitely the day to enjoy being outdoors in the sunshine. Pictured: Lincoln’s Inn Fields
People enjoy the hot weather during a walk through the moat at the Tower of London
Canoeing through duck weed on the river next to the London Stadium in East London
Vehicles queue for ferries at the Port of Dover, Kent, where passengers are facing up to a two-hour wait for checks by French border officials due to a high volume of tourist traffic
Paddle boarders and Kayakers row through duck weed as they clear rubbish from the Regents Canal in London
Sunbathers on the beach enjoying the hot afternoon sunshine and clear blue skies at the seaside resort of Weymouth in Dorset
Researchers have pinned rising temperatures on El Niño, a climate-heating natural weather event that last appeared in 2016, and growing carbon emissions.
The double whammy made Monday the warmest day since satellite monitoring records started tracking global averages in 1979.
Average temperatures were also at their highest since data collection on weather began towards the end of the 19th century, experts believe.
Professor Friederike Otto, senior lecturer at Imperial College London, said: ‘This is not a milestone we should [celebrate]. It’s a death sentence for people and ecosystems.’
Average temperatures across the planet were 2.63°F (1.46°C) higher this June than they were in the period between 1850 and 1900.
Beijing reported nine straight days last week when the temperature exceeded 35C.
Source: Read Full Article
