Dozens of homes have been damaged by flooding and the Met Office had issued warnings for thunderstorms and heavy rain at the end of a summer in which most of England and the whole of Wales was declared in drought.
The Met Office said thundery showers in England and Wales could cause ۷۵mm of rain to fall in just ۱۲ hours in some areas.
The Environment Agency (EA) issued ۴۰ flood alerts, where flooding is possible, across the Midlands, Yorkshire and the south-east on Thursday morning. A flood alert was issued for the River Maun at Edwinstowe and Ollerton in Nottinghamshire.
The EA said river levels at Mansfield The Dykes gauging station were rising rapidly due to the nature of the catchment, and Old Rufford Road was most at risk.
A yellow thunderstorm warning for parts of the Midlands, east of England, south of England, the north-west, Yorkshire and Humber and Wales is in place until ۱۰pm on Thursday.
A second yellow warning for Lincolnshire, parts of the east of England, parts of Yorkshire, Kent and Medway will be in place from ۵pm on Thursday to ۷am on Friday.
Climate scientists have repeatedly warned that global heating is causing more volatile weather patterns in the UK, with intense heatwaves, droughts, flooding and storms. Five heatwaves have been recorded in the UK this summer.
A Birmingham man whose property was damaged in thunderstorms on Wednesday night described seeing a “river coming around the corner” before his home was flooded.
Areas of Birmingham saw significant flooding on Wednesday after the EA issued a flood warning for the Perry Barr area. Staffordshire, where a lower-level flood alert is in place, had ۶۰mm of rainfall in ۱۲ hours, according to the Environment Agency.
West Midlands fire service was alerted to flooding at ۳۲ properties near the Tame Valley canal on Wednesday evening and sent seven fire engines to the scene.
Ryan Goodwin, who lives on one of the affected streets, said his conservatory was flooded with ۳ft (۱ metre) of water and his living room was damaged.
He said: “About ۷.۳۰pm I got home, I was in the car with the kids and I thought I don’t want to get out yet, there’s too many puddles here. Then in a matter of about half an hour it was just a river coming round the corner, all the way down the road.”
Describing the damage to his home to the Press Association, he said: “It’s gone under the laminate flooring in the front room. The conservatory got flooded, the electrics went off. The conservatory had about ۳ft of water – luckily that is below the house level.
“The neighbours’ carpet and sofa and everything got wet as well. Down the road they have two hills running into the corner, it was halfway up their doors, so I think we got a bit lucky here, really.”
Goodwin, who lives near the M۶, said he was not sure how long it would take to repair his home. “I’m just trying to get everything out that is wet and speak to the insurance at the moment,” he said. “All the water comes off the motorway as well. It has been so dry for so long, all the leaves had blocked the drains and everything. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”
Goodwin’s father-in-law, Jay Patel, said: “[The water] was really, really fast. I couldn’t believe how fast it was.”
The EA said after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday morning that ۷۱.۳% of England remained in drought. It said only ۳۴% of the rainfall typically expected in August had been received so far.
The agency’s chief executive, Philip Duffy, said: “A few days or even weeks of wetter weather cannot reverse the impacts of several months of exceptionally dry conditions. Today’s yellow thunderstorm warnings show it’s possible to experience simultaneous drought and flood as heavy rain falls on compacted soils.”
