Thunderstorms: When does the Met Office think thunder and lightning hit Sunderland this week and what does the yellow weather warning mean?

Following another run of hot weather last week, rain is set to return to Wearside over the next few days, but it is thunderstorms which forecasters are worried about.

Yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms have been put in place throughout England and Wales across the next three days, with these warnings covering the North East on Monday (August 15) and Tuesday (August 16).

The Met Office is suggesting hit-and-miss thunderstorms are likely to develop throughout Monday, which could produce torrential downpours and possible disruption.

When are thunderstorms expected to hit Sunderland?

According to Met Office predictions, after a dry afternoon, darker clouds carrying rain will work their way over Wearside from around 7pm on Monday evening. This will be paired with an hour of thunderstorms before the worst of the weather passes, leaving showers which are expected to stop again by around 9pm.

Although the Met Office’s weather warnings cover all of England for two days, the service is not predicting any further storms throughout Tuesday for Sunderland. Heavy rain is expected throughout the afternoon, which will ease into the night, but those worried about thunder and lightning shouldn’t see any issues.

Part of the yellow weather warning suggests this rain could result in difficult driving conditions and flooding in some areas of the country due to the dry ground throughout the UK as a result of the recent heatwaves.

What does a yellow weather warning mean?

Weather warnings are issued to warn the public of potentially disruptive weather patterns and situations.

A yellow weather warning is the least severe of these and it means low level disruption could occur. Some weather warnings mean the majority of people will still be able to go ahead with their daily routine, although some will struggle, while others may mean more severe impacts could happen, but it is less likely.

The current weather warning covers the first of these, meaning it is likely the storms will impact people, although the effects of the weather patterns will not be overly harmful.