153 lightning strikes a minute and hailstones the size of GOLF BALLS as superstorm hits the Midlands and sweeps north
http://www.local-driving-lessons.me.uk/driving_telford.html- Retired teacher Michael Ellis, 66, dies after being swept away by floodwater near Ludlow, Shropshire
- Hailstones the size of GOLF BALLS batter a village in Leicestershire - smashing a car window
- 37mm of rain fell in six hours in Shobdon, Herefordshire this morning
- 'It was like Birmingham-on-Sea' says teacher after rain hits
- Southern England escapes downpour completely as rain falls on West Midlands
- North-south divide as temperatures hit 28C in Gravesend and 27C in London
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A huge clean-up operation was being carried out in parts of Britain today after yesterday's downpours brought flooding chaos to parts of the country.
Hailstones as big as golf balls pummelled parts of Leicestershire after black thunderclouds descended. Residents reported cars being dented and damaged by the ice, some even smashing windows.
Torrential storms also left hundreds of homes flooded and motorists having to be rescued from their vehicles. At the storm’s peak, 153 lightning strikes were being recorded every minute.
The Environment Agency has 10 flood warnings in place in the Midlands, North East and North West, but the worst of the weather looks to be over.
Forecaster Nick Prebble, said: “Today there will be a mixture of sunshine and showers across the UK with temperatures cooling off.
“Most parts of Britain could experience the odd passing shower during the day, but the focus of the heavy downpours will be across Scotland.
“Northern parts could also have a few thunder storms but the weather doesn’t appear to be as severe as yesterday.”
Bolt from above: A fork of lightning strikes behind marquees set up for the weekend airshow at RAF Waddington, Lincs
Hail: The ground looks like it is covered in snow in Queniborough, Leicestershire, following a storm this afternoon
Apocalyptic: Newcastle was shrouded in daytime darkness as a
'Supercell' thunderstorm passed, turning the roads into rivers and daytime into dark night
Whopper: A freak 14cm-long hailstone which fell in Leicestershire
Hailstones the size of golf balls which fell in Sian Colver's garden in Leicestershire this afternoon
In Shropshire yesterday, a 66-year-old retired schoolteacher was swept to his death when a normally gentle brook burst its banks after two hours of torrential rain causing a flash flood.
Michael Ellis, 66, a retired deputy headteacher had been driving home after having blood tests at a nearby doctor's surgery when the sudden floods cut him off in the village of Bittlerley, near Ludlow, just half-a-mile from his home.
Mr Ellis, who lived in the village with his wife Judith, 68, for more than 10 years, abandoned the silver Ford Ka by some farm buildings and attempted to make his way back home by foot.
But he only managed to walk 100 yards before he was swept away.
Caught in the rain: Two Newcastle girls are left utterly drenched as the thunderstorm hits
Local councillor and farmer Richard Huffer, 50, said he had known Mr Ellis since he was taught by him at a secondary school in nearby Ludlow more than three decades ago.
He said: 'He taught me maths at Ludlow School and I am 50, he has been in the village that amount of time.
'He was a very well respected member of the community. He has helped me a lot in my work as a councillor and I have very fond memories of him as a member of the community and as a friend.
'He will be deeply missed. His wife is in shock.'
Mr Huffer said Mr Ellis had parked his car - a Kia Sportage 4x4 - in a layby to avoid driving through the floods and attempted to walk through a field towards his home in the village.
He said: 'He's parked his car here and cut across through a gate on the right hand side and tried to cross the brook at a higher level.
'Obviously he has got swept away.
It was a different story down south as tennis fans fainted in the heat at Wimbledon yesterday. But in the Midlands enough ice fell to keep the whole of London cool.
In a dramatic demonstration of our mad weather, large swathes of northern and central Britain were hammered by rolling storms while the South sweltered during one of the hottest days of the year so far.
The picturesque town of Appleby was particularly badly hit, many homes were pumped out and the local primary school had its play area flooded.
In Tyneside trains were cancelled at Central station in Newcastle and Gateshead's MetroCentre and Ikea store were evacuated.
Witnesses described an announcement of a "technical fault" at the MetroCentre before water burst into the building and flooded shop floors.
Flood alerts were issued across the North East as tributaries to the region's rivers threatened to burst.
In Northumberland, police warned motorists to take care as they received reports of flooding around Haltwhistle, Greenhead Bank and all along the A69 and A68.
Half a month's rain fell in just an hour this morning as the severe storm hit across the Midlands. In Scampton, Lincolnshire, 25.8mm of rain fell between 1pm and 2pm.
Rita Gatehouse, 66, said: 'Mike had been to doctors for blood tests and was driving home.
'He found himself stranded by the flood waters and couldn't drive through - so he got out and walked. He must have been trying to find a different way around when he got into difficulties.'
He also ran a Girl Guides group with his wife Judith. The couple did not have any children.
Earlier, 22.2m fell in Winterbourne, West Midlands, as a weather front moved across the country. And Shrobdon, Herefordshire, had 37mm of rain between 6am and midday today - with most of the wet weather coming during a three-hour period.
Henry Chance, chairman of Bitterley Parish Council, where a man died, said: 'This flooding is the worst I can ever remember in living memory.
'The water down there is usually nothing more than a brook - its just a trickle.
'You wouldn't even know there was any kind of waterway running through Bitterley - you could walk up and down it in wellies.
In Birstall, Leicestershire, hailstones the size of golf balls fell this afternoon - smashing a car window in the process.
The hailstones - which measured up to 6cm (2.3ins) in diameter - fell during an hour long storm which started at around 1pm.
Sian Colver, 29, said: 'The weather is just crazy, one minute everything was normal with blue skies and then suddenly all you could hear was what sounded like bullets hitting rooves and windows.
'I was shocked when I saw the size of them, they were like golf balls.'
Thunderclap: A home video shows a bolt of lightning striking the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle
Chaos: Thunderstorms in Newcastle upon-Tyne turn
the quayside roadway into a river with drivers battling to keep moving
in the rising floodwater
Calamity: A car is submerged in Gateshead by the
Athletics stadium. Motorists were left stranded up to their windows in
the rush hour superstorm
(Right) A pedestrian is soaked to the skin in Newcastle while two women shelter under their umbrellas in Appleby, Cumbria
Rescue: Submerged vehicles in the Heaton
district of Newcastle where a dramatic rooftop rescue took place after a
mother and baby were forced to take refuge on their car roof
Floodwaters rise around stranded cars as the
rain teems down in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne where roads were
transformed into lakes in a matter of seconds
A car drives through an area of Whitley Bay, North Tyneside which was transformed into an enormous lake after a sudden downpour
Temperatures of 28C were recorded in Gravesend while there was 27C in London
A black and white image shows hundreds of lightning strikes as red crosses stretching from Wales in the West across as far as Derbyshire.
Dan Quirk, 34, a deputy headteacher from Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, said he had never seen such a sudden and sharp hour of rain before.