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The Sun
5 days ago
- Climate
- The Sun
UK weather: Met Office issues yellow warning for thunderstorms and flash floods TODAY with up to 90mm of rain
THE Met Office has put a two-day yellow weather warning in place as thunderstorms and flash floods are due to sweep the UK. After a spell of sunny skies and baking temperatures, this weekend is set to be a stormy one - with torrential rain, hail, thunder and lightening set to blast most of England. 5 5 5 Showers and thunderstorms will rain down on northern England early this afternoon. The Met Office said 25-25 mm of rain is possible in less than an hour, with even 40-60 mm of rain possible over the North York Moors. As well as rain, frequent lightning and large hail are possible. The forecaster warned householders to consider if their location is at risk of flash flooding, and to prepare a flood plan and an emergency flood kit. The stormy weather will likely mean travel delays, and possible power cuts in some areas. Incoming rain may come as a relief to gardeners after the recent scorching weather saw a hosepipe ban come into place. The Met Office advised: "If you find yourself outside and hear thunder, protect yourself by finding a safe enclosed shelter (such as a car). "Do not shelter under or near trees, or other structures which may be struck by lightning. If you are on an elevated area move to lower ground." The yellow weather warning is in place from midday today until 8pm. 5-day forecast Today: Cloud with outbreaks of rain spreading slowly east, with potentially thundery showers developing across North Wales, southern Scotland, and parts of northern England during the afternoon. Elsewhere, largely dry and bright. Feeling very warm and humid, particularly in the east. Tonight: Showers across northeastern areas will gradually clear before another band of thundery rain moves into southern areas overnight. This potentially torrential rain will track northwards, mainly affecting eastern parts. Saturday: Heavy, thundery rain continuing to spread northwards, reaching Scotland during the afternoon. Showers developing widely through the afternoon. Thicker cloud and rain arriving across the southwest later. Warm and muggy. Sunday to Tuesday: Remaining unsettled with further heavy and perhaps thundery showers on Sunday and Monday. Chance of some more persistent rain arriving late Tuesday. A little less warm, though still feeling humid. Another yellow thunderstorm warning will come into force tomorrow at 12 noon. It will expire at 8pm on Friday. Thundery rain will spread across most of England on Saturday. The warning on the Met Office website reads: "Rain will likely be locally torrential, bringing 20-30 mm in less than an hour in many places, with 60-90 mm in less than three hours possible in a few places. "Whilst rain will clear from the south of the area by early Saturday afternoon, further thunderstorms are likely to develop here. "As well as heavy rain, impacts from frequent lightning, gusty winds and large hail are also likely." Met Office Chief Meteorologist Jason Kelly, said: 'More warnings could be issued for the weekend and early next week. Keep an eye on the Met Office forecast for updates as the picture develops. 'Within the warm and humid airmass we will potentially see temperatures reaching 30°C or more for parts of eastern England by Friday, with very warm and muggy conditions continuing into the weekend in parts of central and southern England.' On Sunday, widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue, moving northwards throughout the day. Next week, the weather will still be unsettled, with showers and thunderstorms at times. 5 5 Where does the yellow warning cover?
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
First hosepipe ban of 2025 takes effect in drought-hit Yorkshire
The first hosepipe ban of the year has come into effect after England suffered its driest spring in more than a century. Householders in Yorkshire, which has been declared 'in drought ', are barred from using hosepipes to water gardens, wash cars, fill hot tubs and paddling pools and clean outdoor surfaces. Anyone breaching the ban, which is legally enforcable, may be fined £1,000. Yorkshire Water said the region had had both the driest and warmest spring on record this year, receiving just 15cm of rainfall between February and June – less than half the level expected in an average year. Demand for water had also been higher than usual, the company said, leaving reservoirs at 55.8 per cent full, which is 26.1 per cent lower than normal. Exceptions include using a hosepipe to clean animals – although Yorkshire Water urged customers to be 'as efficient as possible' when doing so – and filling their drinking troughs. Yorkshire 's 5.5 million households may still also wash their cars and water their gardens by filling a bucket or watering can, and businesses may use a hosepipe if it is directly related to a commercial purpose. The company said it had tried everything possible to avoid a ban, adding: 'With more dry weather forecast in the coming weeks, it is likely our stocks will continue to fall, so we need to act now to maintain clean water supplies and long-term river health.' Environment Agency chiefs warned last month that England faces water shortages of five billion litres a day by 2055 without urgent action to cut leaks, curb use and build new reservoirs. The government announced in May it was fast-tracking the building of new reservoirs in East Anglia and Lincolnshire. North-west England is also in drought, and in both areas, farmers are struggling to grow crops because the ground is so dry. Water companies across England say substantial rain is needed. Last month Thames Water bosses said they were not confident they could avoid restrictions for their 16 million customers this summer. The Met Office says spring broke historical climate records, marking an unprecedented season of warmth and sunshine across the UK. Forecasters say temperatures of more than 30C are expected to peak over the weekend, and the heatwave is expected to be longer lived and extend further north and west into a larger part of the UK than previously this summer.
The Guardian
06-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
RBA tipped to cut cash rate for third time this year in bid to boost household spending
The Reserve Bank is expected to cut the cash rate for the third time this year on Tuesday, in a move that will give further relief to millions of householders with a mortgage – and hopefully spark some life into Australia's struggling economy. The economics teams at Australia's four largest banks are now unanimous that the RBA board will lower the central bank's cash rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.6% at the end of the board's two-day meeting. Traders in financial markets are even more bullish, pricing in consecutive 0.25 percentage point rate cuts in July and August, followed by a third by November. That would take the cash rate to 3.1% from 3.85%, but experts are less convinced rates will fall that far this year, with most suggesting two cuts, rather than three, is more likely. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Whatever the case, the outcome will mean interest bills will be hundreds of dollars lower for borrowers, who emerged from the pandemic period with more debt than ever. A rate cut on Tuesday will drop the repayment on a $500,000 home loan from $3,200 per month to $3,124 – a saving of $76. That's a saving of about $230 per month by the time the RBA rate cuts in February, May and potentially next week are passed on to borrowers. So far, however, the prospect of lower interest bills for the 3.3m mortgaged households has done surprisingly little to boost consumer spending. Total household spending has barely budged this year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with signs of life only emerging in the latest figures from May. NAB's head of market economics, Tapas Strickland, said consumption was on track for another weak quarter. 'That still argues to the view that the RBA should cut rates next week, and quickly bring the cash rate down towards neutral' – or to 3.1% by November, he said. Retail sales have been particularly weak. After bouncing around wildly as the country went in and out of Covid lockdowns, sales per person, and after adjusting for inflation, have steadily declined to be only 4.5% above pre-pandemic levels, according to figures provided by AMP. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion While inflation is now firmly under 3% and expected to stay there for the foreseeable future, Australia remains a much more expensive place, a fact we are reminded of every day. Prices are 21% higher than they were five years ago, according to the ABS's consumer price index (CPI). Belinda Allen, a senior economist at CBA, said she had been surprised by how consumption was not picking up in response to falling inflation, climbing wages and lower interest rates. The CBA's internal data on its millions of banking customers suggest many Australians are keeping the extra cash in their pockets. 'We see roughly one-third of all transactions in the economy, (and) there just does seem to have been this shift by the consumer to save and pay down debt rather than spend,' Allen said. 'We've been waiting for this to shift, and it looks like it's taking longer than we expected.' Allen's early theory is that households remain 'scarred' by the experience of the past few years. This reticence to spend, alongside the potential fallout from Donald Trump's trade war, is a key risk to what is otherwise a reasonably positive outlook for the Australian economy in the months ahead, she said.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Allerdale bigger bins delayed ahead of collection cuts
Some residents may not get replacement bins before waste collections change from weekly to fortnightly. Cumberland Council said it received more than 10,500 requests for replacement bins ahead of it halving the frequency of general waste collections in the former Allerdale area from who have not yet received their 180 litre replacement bins have been told to continue using their existing bin, with an extra two bags waste also Labour-led authority said householders could also be eligible for an even larger bin if they have a big household, young children in nappies or for medical needs. Carlisle residents and those in the former Copeland area already have their black bins collected on a fortnightly and paper collections will increase from monthly to fortnightly from late council said: "Due to the large number of requests, we are advising residents that don't get their new bin before next week to carry on using their existing bin and are encouraging them to recycle as much as they can. "If they can't fit all their waste into their bin, residents can put out up to two bags of excess waste." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BreakingNews.ie
14-05-2025
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Over half of septic tanks failed inspections in 2024
Over half of septic tank inspections failed in 2024, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Local authorities completed 1,390 septic tank inspections in 2024, targeted near rivers and household drinking water wells which are most at risk of contamination by faulty septic tanks. Advertisement Over half (56 per cent) of septic tanks failed inspection. "It is critically important that householders maintain their septic tanks as such failures have the potential to be a risk to their family's health and the environment," the EPA said. Domestic waste water treatment systems, mostly septic tanks, are used by householders to treat sewage. There are nearly half a million systems in Ireland. When septic tanks fail inspection, local authorities issue advisory notices to householders setting out what is required to fix the problem. The EPA report found that 82 per cent of septic tanks that failed during 2013–2024 were fixed, up from 75 per cent at the end of 2021. Advertisement The number of advisory notices open more than two years decreased for the first time, from 576 at the end of 2023 to 523 at the end of 2024. Dr Micheál Lehane, director of the EPA's Office of Radiation Protection and Environmental Monitoring, said: 'The reduction in the number of old advisory notices (over two years) is to be welcomed, however, the number not resolved remains unacceptably high, allowing risks to public health and the environment to continue. Greater and sustained enforcement effort is needed by local authorities during their annual septic tank inspections, checking that faulty septic tanks are fixed and taking legal action where necessary.' The grant schemes for remediation of septic tanks were changed at the start of 2024 to increase the amount from €5,000 to €12,000 and remove the requirement to have registered the septic tank in 2013. There were 265 grants awarded in 2024, totalling nearly €2.5 million, up from 194 grants in 2023.
