Wimbledon matches disrupted as UK faces heavy rain and thunderstorms

Isobel Frodsham, PA
Updated

Heavy rain and thunderstorms have been predicted to hit the UK this weekend as Wimbledon’s morning matches were disrupted by the weather.

Matches at the tennis tournament began as normal from 11am on Saturday, however, they were suspended across all courts around 30 minutes later after showers began to beat down on south-west London.

Covers on the courts came off just before 1pm, with play resuming shortly afterwards.

Showers are expected to develop further across England and Wales, with thunder, lightning and hail leading to potential localised flooding for Saturday, the Met Office said.

Court 10 and the outside courts are covered as rain stops play on day six of Wimbledon
Court 10 and the outside courts are covered as rain stops play on day six of Wimbledon (Steven Paston/PA)

A thunderstorm yellow weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for a large part of England, eastern parts of Wales and southern Scotland, which runs until late on Saturday, while a rainfall yellow weather warning, covering northern parts of Devon, Cornwall, Bristol and Bath, has been given as well.

The yellow warnings mean the weather could cause some disruption to travel in parts of the UK while flooding may also take place.

Greg Dewhurst, a senior meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “London will have some patchy rain through the first part of the afternoon but it should become a little bit drier later on, with maximum temperatures around 17C.

“Overall, I think there’s a risk of one or two showers and temperatures on the cool side. That continues into Sunday as well, with further risk of showers across the London area again, on the heavy side at times, but I think there’ll be some sunny spells too.”

Sunday sees the potential for hail and the yellow warnings move further north, covering northern parts of England, a large majority of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and remain in place until the end of the day.

Ground staff attempt to dry the outside of a court on day six of Wimbledon
Ground staff attempt to dry the outside of a court at Wimbledon (Adam Davy/PA)

Sunny spells meanwhile are predicted for the South and Midlands in England and across Wales on Sunday with highs of 22C, which is slightly below average for this time of year.

Football fans are also being encouraged to check travel on Saturday as the showers may disrupt their plans.

Mr Dewhurst added: “Our main message throughout the whole weekend is there is likely, wherever you are in the UK, to be some heavy showers around. Be prepared if you’re travelling over the next couple of days with those heavy, heavy thunderstorms around.”

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