Met Office thunderstorm warning for Blackpool and the Fylde coast - Latest forecast revealed

Blackpool appears to have said goodbye to the heatwaves as the Fylde coast gets battered by heavy downpours and potentially thunderstorms on Thursday, August 20.

While this isn’t good news for spectators or riders of the Women’s Tour of Britain, storm chasers might be hoping that the forecast for thunderstorms is true.

The Met Office yellow storm warning, in place until 1pm today, says that “heavy showers and thunderstorms” are likely to hit much of the Fylde coast at some point during the window.

According to forecasters, heavy and persistent rain is expected until 4pm, with conditions slowly improving into Thursday evening.

A Met Office spokesman said: “Heavy showers and some thunderstorms are expected to continue across northern England and north Wales this morning before easing this afternoon.

“These are likely to bring 15 to 20 mm in less than an hour in a few places, with 30-40 mm possible over several hours. These accumulations may lead to a few places seeing some flooding. Alongside the rain, there are additional hazards of lightning and hail.”

But will we see thunderstorms in Blackpool?

While there are never any guarantees, Netweather forecasts are showing that the highest risk of a thunderstorm in Blackpool is between 11am and 1pm, with a 22% risk.

The likelihood then drops to 11%, before reaching 22% at 1pm and 11% uptil 4pm. At 10pm the storm risk spikes to 35% before falling to between 18% and 11% between 2am and 7am tomorrow.

While some might enjoy a good thunderstorm, there are significant risks during such a weather event, with experts warning people to be ready for flooding, dangerous driving conditions, damage to buildings and public transport disruption.