The Met Office has warned of flooding and possible damage to buildings from lightning, which is pictured here striking over the city of London pic: REUTERS
Thunderstorms and torrential rain are sweeping across parts of southern Britain, with frequent lightning flashing across the sky.
Around 15,000 lightning strikes were recorded in four hours on Saturday night, BBC Weather said.
The thunderstorms swept northwards across the south of England, the Midlands and Wales and are expected to continue throughout Sunday.
Many people got out their cameras to photograph and video the electrical storm, which was called “utterly insane” and “like being under a strobe light”.
Bolts of lightning flash across the sky over the River Thames in this photo taken by the RNLI late on Saturday night pic:PA/TOWERRNLI
A dramatic and purple sky was photographed over Hayling Island, off the south coast of England near Portsmouth, as thunderstorms moved northwards across the mainland pic:EMS – HAYLING ISLAND/@AUNTYMEMS
Others remarked that they had “never seen a storm quite like this” and said the flashes were “stunning”.
Another woman remarked it was “like a rave outside”.
Bolts light up the sky over the the Suleymaniye Mosque in Dalston, east London pic:ANDREW LANXON HOYLE/@BATTERYHQ
‘It took me ages to get this shot’ said Kate, who photographed the sky over Camden in London pick:KATE/@TEARSCRYNOMORE
BBC Weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker called it the “mother of all thunderstorms” as he watched it over London.
“Oh boy! This utterly insane,” he said.
“I’ve never seen a storm with such frequent lightning in my life I don’t think. Mostly sheet lightning and not too loud but flashes are spectacular.”
Paul Greenford was in a caravan at a campsite in Henley-on-Thames when the heavy rain and lightning storm struck pic:PAUL GREENFORD TYRES/@ATKO80
Harry Neary, who began setting up his camera once he noticed the lightning flashes, photographed bolts near the village of Broadwindsor in Dorset Pic:HARRY NEARY/@GRUMPYROCKER
Forecaster Gemma Plumb, from BBC Weather, said as the storms push northwards across England throughout Sunday, more are coming up over the English Channel from the continent.
The Met Office weather warning for rain is in force until 6:00 BST on Monday and covers all of Wales as well as southern and central England.
Flooding of homes and businesses could happen quickly, the Met Office said. It added that fast-flowing or deep floodwater is possible with damage to some buildings from flooding, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.
A long strike of lightning dwarfs London’s Shard, which stands at 310m pic:@SAMUELTWILKINSON/PA
Lightning strikes above Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday night, where Fulham beat Aston Villa in the Championship play-off final earlier in the day pic:REUTERS
The cloudy sky was lit up in purple as lightning struck above Tredegar in south Wales pic:KARL MCCARTHY/@MCCARTHYKARL
Hundreds of people in London took out their cameras to snap the lightning storm, including in Plaistow, in the east of the capital pic:J/@DXTJXSH
Two people run to escape the rain as lightning turns the sky pink over King’s Cross pic:@PAMELSAURUSREX/PA
A streak of lightning cuts across the sky in the distance, over the seafront in Bournemouth pic: STEPH WALKER/@STEPHAWALKER84Source: BBC
