Met Office issues tornado alert after driest start to spring in 60 years
The alert comes after rain showered the South following the driest start to spring in nearly six decades.
The Environment Agency had previously warned of the risk of drought this summer without sustained rainfall, with millions of households told they may face restrictions on water use.
As of Friday, 80.6mm of rain had been recorded for the UK this spring – nearly 20mm less than the record low for the full season of 100.7mm, set in 1852.
On Wednesday, Alex Burkill, a Met Office meteorologist, said: 'A bit of a North-South split in our weather through today – northern parts having a lot of fine, sunny weather; meanwhile in the South, we've seen some wet weather push its way in. There will be further showery bursts to come as we go through the rest of today.'
He said there was a risk of thunder, lightning and hail in southern regions, adding: 'It's not out of the question that we could see a funnel cloud [a cone-shaped cloud that extends towards the ground but does not touch it], maybe even a brief tornado, across parts of the South East.'
The meteorologist warned of a cold front bringing cloud and rain across eastern Scotland and then down the eastern side of England overnight, with frost possible across some parts of Scotland.
Thursday is set to be drier, with a few showers possible across parts of the South West. 'These won't be as intense as the showery bursts that we'll have seen through today. There will again be a good amount of sunshine on offer,' Mr Burkill said.
Friday is also expected to be mostly fine, but the weekend may bring some wet and windy weather.
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