Thousands of lightning strikes bring flooding, fires and travel disruption to southern England

Thousands of lightning strikes lit up the sky across southern England overnight, bringing flash flooding, travel disruption and multiple fire responses. The storms moved in from the south west on Monday evening and spread towards the south east during the night. People across the region reported being woken in the early hours by loud thunder and repeated flashes of lightning.

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Met Office data suggests there were about 29,000 lightning strikes in a 24-hour period. London Fire Brigade said it responded to 400 calls overnight, including two house fires in London that were believed to have been caused by lightning strikes. A house in Bristol was also set ablaze during the storm earlier in the evening.

The storms caused some very heavy rain in parts of England, leading to flash flooding in several areas. Travel disruption was also reported as the weather system moved through the south of the country. Images and reports from London and other parts of the south showed lightning dominating the night sky and flooding affecting roads and transport routes.

The incident comes as England prepares for a rare red weather alert set to come into force on Wednesday, with temperatures forecast to reach up to 40C. That makes the overnight storms part of a wider period of extreme weather, with intense heat and severe thunderstorms affecting the same region within a short time. The combination of heat, atmospheric instability and heavy rain has increased the pressure on emergency services and transport networks.

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The storms developed after a very warm day across southern England, when temperatures rose into the high 20s and low 30s. According to the available explanation, that heat helped build energy in the atmosphere, which was then released when an atmospheric disturbance moved through higher up. That process produced cumulonimbus thunderclouds and the intense lightning activity seen overnight.

What remains unclear is the full scale of damage from the fires, flooding and transport disruption, and whether any injuries were caused. More detail may emerge as emergency services and local authorities assess the impact. The key developments to watch are the response to the red alert, the extent of any further storm activity, and whether the extreme heat later in the week adds to the disruption.

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