Heavy rain and thunderstorms to dampen opening day of Wimbledon
Met Office has warned that some areas in the south east could see flooded roads, alongside hail, gusty winds and up to 60mm of rain
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Your support makes all the difference.Heavy rain and thunderstorms rain are expected across much of the south of England, potentially causing disruptions to Wimbledon and other sporting events scheduled to take place this week.
The first round of the Championships is set to get underway this morning at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London, but the Met Office says foggy weather with showers are expected throughout the day, with rain becoming “heavy or thundery” in the afternoon.
The Met Office has issued two yellow weather warnings for Monday, for rain and thunderstorms, covering much of southern England and Wales, south of Cardiff and Bath. The warnings caution that “scattered torrential thundery downpours” could result in flooded roads, with a “small chance of fast-flowing or deep floodwater”.
The warning adds that where thunderstorms form, they could be slow moving and produce large amounts of rainfall, with up to 60mm falling within 2-3 hours in certain areas. The storms could also bring lightning, hail and gusty winds.
London is not currently included within the weather warnings.
In the past, wet weather has forced the postponement of all matches at Wimbledon scheduled on rainy days – a common phenomenon due to the unpredictability of British weather. Since 1922, there have only been eight years where no rain interruption was recorded.
Following the installation of roofs over Centre Court in 2009 and Court 1 in 2019 there have been fewer rain delays. In 2019 the last year that the Championships took place – the tournament was cancelled in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic – play was not delayed due to inclement weather.
Wet weather is expected to continue throughout the week, with showers and longer rain spells expected on Tuesday and Wednesday in London and the south east of England, and occasional showers forecast for Thursday and Friday. Northern areas are expected to see drier and sunnier weather.
Other events that could be impacted by this week’s wet weather include England’s Euro 2020 match against Germany, set to take place Tuesday evening at 5pm.
Both teams have already played in particularly rainy conditions – both games resulting in draws. England’s match against Scotland was scoreless at Wembley on 18 June, and Germany tied Hungary at two apiece in Munich, last Wednesday.
Steven Keates, senior meteorologist for the Met Office, said: “There’s a reasonable chance of rain which could be heavy, at least at times, during the game” in London.
Despite the rain, temperatures in the capital are expected to be mild, reaching 19C by kick-off.
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