Deadly European lightning storms to continue for another three days before coming to UK

'Lightning will be a concern'

Warning from the Met Office of more thunderstorms on Sunday, 29 May 2016 (Met Office)

Lightning storms which have killed at least one man and injured many others are set to continue for three more days in central Europe before heading west to Britain, forecasters have warned.

Witnesses said there were “no clouds in the sky” before a summer storm struck a children’s football match in western Germany on Saturday, injuring 35, including the referee who went into cardiac arrest after being hit directly by lightning.

A hiker descending a mountain in south-west Poland was killed by a bolt of lightning, while a 61-year-old man in the same region drowned in flash flooding.

And in Paris, the same weather system saw a sudden, violent storm appear over a children’s birthday party in a park in the city’s north-west. Eight children and three adults were injured when lightning struck a tree they were sheltering under.

A graphic released by the Met Office in the UK showed storms continuing to circulate around central and western Europe, and meteorologist Dean Hall told The Independent the risks associated with lightning, flash flooding, large hail and strong winds would remain until Tuesday.

The danger from the storms is greatest during the day, Mr Hall said, as a humid mass of air is heated by the sun to produce sudden, huge clouds and a very unstable atmosphere.

Storms had already been observed in northern parts of France on Sunday morning, he said. “There are likely to be more through much of the day, with showers and thunderstorms developing across central Europe, France, Germany and the Low Countries,” he said.

“Lightning will be a concern,” he said. “It is going to continue to be very unsettled over the next few days, and with up to 100ml of rain falling in a few hours there could be some flash flooding.”

The storm system is due to move west on Monday night, he said, hitting the UK in East Anglia and South East England.

“There could be some heavy rain, some rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning,” he said, adding that the impacts are probably “not going to be as severe as we have seen over on the near-continent”.

“The rain coming across south-eastern parts of England will be coming in overnight, so we lose that heating impact to develop the thunderstorms,” Mr Hall said.

Vehicles of firefigthers are parked at the entrance of the Parc Monceau on May 28, 2016 in Paris, after eleven people including 10 children were struck by lightning in the park (AFP/Getty)

Anyone caught in one of the severe lightning storms in Europe was advised to ignore the “natural instinct” to rush for shelter under trees or use umbrellas.

Short of staying indoors and waiting for the storms to pass, Mr Hall said, the best thing to do is “crouch down low to the ground so you reduce surface area and everything else is above you”.

Speaking in the aftermath of Saturday’s dramatic incidents across Europe, one Paris resident who lives near the park and saw the lightning crash down said it was rare to see such a wild storm hitting the French capital.

Storm warnings were in effect across parts of France on Saturday, and the weather had violent consequences elsewhere in Europe, but alerts were not in place for the capital itself.

“It was dramatic,” Jean-Louis Laurens told the Associated Press.

A spokesman for Paris' fire service said the incident could have been even more serious, were it not for the actions of an off-duty firefighter who played a critical role in getting immediate medical help to the victims.

Commander Pascal Gremillet was visiting a museum nearby when he noticed the commotion and discovered nine of the 11 victims lying unconscious. He provided first aid, CPR and heart messages to those in direst need.

“He saw who was the most seriously injured. He did a quick triage of the victims. He did first aid. He alerted the rescue services,” spokesman Eric Moulin told The Associated Press. “Without his actions, it would have been much worse.”