The Met Office has issued an urgent advisory for households across 75 areas of the UK to prepare for potential power cuts as thunderstorms bring lightning, flash flooding, and strong winds starting Friday. A yellow thunderstorm warning is in effect from midnight until 10am across much of England and Wales, while a separate warning covers large parts of Scotland until midnight on Friday.
Why Households Are Being Urged to Prepare
Forecasters warn there is a “slight chance” of power cuts where lightning strikes or severe weather damages electricity infrastructure. The Met Office advises residents to take proactive steps to minimize disruption and ensure safety during any outages.
Met Office Recommendations for Power Cut Preparedness
The Met Office recommends the following preparations: ensure you have multiple torches and spare batteries; keep your mobile phone fully charged for emergency calls; keep fridge and freezer doors closed during an outage and place a blanket over them to retain cold; store important documents safely and accessibly; check on elderly neighbours to confirm they are prepared; switch off appliances like irons, ovens, electric fires, and fryers that could become fire hazards when power returns; contact your Distribution Network Operator (DNO) if you rely on electrically powered medical equipment to register for the Priority Services Register; and speak to your communications provider if you use a digital landline without mobile access or live in a poor mobile coverage area to arrange additional support.
Additional Risks from Thunderstorms
The Met Office also warns of a small chance of rapid flooding of homes and businesses, damage from hail and lightning, difficult driving conditions, and disruption to rail and bus services.
Full List of 75 Affected Areas
The following areas are covered by the thunderstorm warning: Derby, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Halton, Lancashire, Merseyside, Warrington, Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Bristol, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Torbay, Wiltshire, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan, Wrexham, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and York.
