Met Office thunderstorms warning in place in Wales with threat of flooding

Met Office thunderstorms warning in place in Wales with threat of flooding
Wales is at risk of seeing thunderstorms for much of Saturday, with a yellow Met Office weather warning in place until 6pm
A significant amount of heavy rain means river levels are rising
(Image: WalesOnline/Gayle Marsh )
A yellow Met Office weather warning for thunderstorms is in place across all of Wales until 6pm on Saturday, June 14. After multiple days of heavy rain, the wet and unsettled weather is set to continue, posing a risk of flooding for parts of the country.
During the early hours of Saturday morning, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) issued six flood alerts with river levels rising due to the poor weather conditions. The NRW alerts warned that "flooding of low-lying land and roads is expected" and covered areas including parts of the Rhondda, Bridgend and Neath.
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These NRW alerts are no longer in place but the Met Office's yellow weather warning says that there is a continued risk of flooding and disruption due to the thunderstorms.
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Its website says that spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions, there is a chance that small communities will be cut off by flooded roads and a "small chance" that homes and businesses could flood quickly.
The weather warning also states: "There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life".
The forecasters also say that there is a risk of public transport being cancelled as well as power cuts. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
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The Met Office has said that during the thunderstorms, there is the potential for 20mm of rain to fall in an hour and 30-40 mm to fall in three hours or less in a few places.
It comes after a week of significant rainfall, with a month's worth of rain being recorded in just 12 hours in the Gower on Thursday, according to BBC forecaster Derek Brockway.
The rain is set to continue for much of Saturday according to weather experts. The Met Office forecast reads: "Heavy outbreaks of rain move gradually northwards, bringing a risk of hail, thunderstorms, and gusty winds.
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"Brighter spells developing in the afternoon, though further heavy showers also likely across the south."
Sunday is looking slightly better, with rain becoming more patchy and turning into showers.
The forecast for Sunday is: "Cloudy in the north with patchy rain spreading eastwards. Drier and brighter further south, though a few showers may pop up through the afternoon. Feeling cooler with near-average temperatures. Maximum temperature 20 °C."
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As we head into next week, the weather is expected to become more settled and temperatures are also expected to rise as an area of high pressure builds from the southwest. The Met Office said that Monday to Wednesday would be "widely dry" and temperatures would "feel warm".

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