Storm Lilian brought chaos to the start of the bank holiday, and heavy rain is set to bring more problems for the rest of the weekend.

A yellow weather warning for heavy rain covering much of the South East is in force at 6am today, with downpours expected until 1pm.

The warning covers an area from the Isle of Wight up to Ipswich, Suffolk, and includes London, with the Met Office warning rain could turn thundery, with temperatures peaking in the high teens.

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The forecaster warned the rain could cause travel disruption and flooding in some areas.

It comes after a storm surged across Wales and England on Friday morning and left more than 73,000 homes across the North East of England and the Yorkshire region power or facing supply issues.

Image:
The yellow weather warning in place from 6am on Saturday

The highest recorded wind gust was 73mph in Capel Curig, Gwynedd, while gusts of 70mph were also recorded in Crosby, Merseyside, and Lake Vyrnwy, Powys.

Leeds Festival also faced disruption with two of the stages in Bramham Park left unable to be used for the entire weekend after organisers said “mother nature played her part”.

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In a statement, the event said both the BBC Radio 1 tent and stage and the brand new “Aux” venue will not be used on Saturday or Sunday after inspection from the health and safety team.

It means acts including indie singer Beabadoobee and US star Ashnikko who were due to play the BBC Radio 1 Stage have presumably been cancelled, while podcasts Antics With Ash and The Useless Hotline were billed for the Aux Stage.

It comes after the festival closed both the stages plus the Chevron stage earlier on Friday due to weather disruption.

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Tents blown away in storm at festival

Campers at both Leeds and Creamfields – a dance event in the Cheshire countryside – had already faced a sleepless first night as the storm began to batter the north, bringing gusts of around 50-60mph.

Multiple videos circulated online of festivalgoers desperately trying to hang on to their tents, while one was filmed flying through the air as winds proved too strong.

Handout photo taken with permission from the social media site X, formerly Twitter, posted by Simon Crossley of a fallen branch on a footpath in Meanwood, Leeds as storm Lilian hits the UK. Picture date: Friday August 23, 2024.
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Meanwood, Leeds. Pic: PA

One festivalgoer, 23-year-old Jason Kamara, said the weather made it “impossible” to sleep and the tents of “loads of people” had been damaged.

There was also disruption on the roads, railways and in the air, after British Airways cancelled 16 flights scheduled to take off from Heathrow and delayed others, according to the airline’s website.

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Meanwhile, a lorry driving across the Humber Bridge was lifted off its back wheels as extremely strong winds nearly pushed it off the side as it made its way across.

Beyond Saturday, southern Britain and Ireland will be mainly dry, with some sunshine, but elsewhere there will be showers or longer spells of rain. It will be on the cool side again and rather blustery, especially in the North.

A similar picture is expected for bank holiday Monday as southern and eastern Britain will be mainly dry, with bright or sunny spells while the wind will pick up again in the North and West.