A Paris to Cardiff plane with 51 passengers on board had to be diverted to Exeter on Monday afternoon after being hit by lightning.

A Paris to Cardiff plane with 51 passengers on board had to be diverted to Exeter on Monday afternoon after being hit by lightning.

The passengers were transferred onto another plane and continued their journey to Cardiff. The plane was not damaged and no one was hurt.

It is the second time in three days that a Flybe flight from France to Wales has had to be diverted.

On Friday, an aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at Gatwick.

On Monday, the passengers on the plane which was struck by lightning arrived in Cardiff at 1410 BST. They had originally been due to arrive at 1230 BST.

A spokeswoman for Flybe said the plane landed at Exeter because they have a maintenance depot there.

On Friday, a runway had to be closed at the West Sussex airport to allow the plane with 46 passengers on board, to land.

A spokesperson for Flybe said the landing followed a suspected technical fault on the plane which was flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Cardiff.

Story from BBC NEWS:

© BBC MMIX

Lightning strikes can cause widespread disruption to the electricity network.

MORE than 1,600 homes in Whitstable were plunged into darkness for up to two hours last night during a thunderstorm.

It affected homes in the South Street area and Tesco supermarket in Millstrood Road from 9.45pm.

Engineers from EDF Energy restored power to 351 homes within minutes.

The rest were reconnected just before midnight.

EDF Energy spokesman James Barber said there was a fault on the overhead power lines.

The cause is still being investigated.

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/news/Thunderstorm-blacks-1-600-Whitstable-homes/article-1175750-detail/article.html

Heavy showers are certainly the flavour of the month.

Thunderstorms are always hard to forecast due to their hit & miss nature. Whilst you might be getting hammered by a thunderstorm, 5 miles away could be basking under hot Summer sun.

However, the gist of this story in the Weston Mercury is that the weather isn’t getting better! The thundery showers and intermittent downpours continue into the weekend with a particularly wet & windy end of the week on the way.

So, the Mercury’s take on the rest of the week:

THUNDER and lighting are on their way to North Somerset – weather experts are warning.

According to the Met Office there will be storms in the area over the next few days.

Weather is due to remain unsettled with plenty of showers and some sunny spells until at least Friday.

http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/news/story.aspx?brand=Westonmercury&category=news&tBrand=westonmercury&tCategory=znews&itemid=WeED14%20Jul%202009%2014%3A12%3A11%3A193

London was hit by hail and lightning

A number of London Underground stations were closed due to flooding after a series of thunderstorms.

Victoria, Hyde Park Corner and Paddington Tube stations were shut at about 1730 BST after torrential rain hit, with hail and lightning.

All stations have reopened but Southern Network Rail services to and from Victoria station are still disrupted.

There were a number of flood warnings at rivers and tributaries in south-east London including River Ravensbourne.

Commuters were left stranded outside Victoria station and forced to find alternative routes out of the capital.

Sara Livesey, 40, who works in recruitment, was trying to get home to Beckenham in Kent.

She said: “I waited in the office until the rain stopped, thinking I was leaving at a good time and I can’t believe this, I’m just dumbstruck. It’s only been raining for 20 minutes and this happens, what a joke.”

Personal assistant Elana Turner, 29, Lou Barr, 28, an executive assistant and accountant Cathy Bishop, 37, were looking on the bright side, despite their difficulty in getting home to Beckenham.

Ms Barr said: “Everyone’s really moody, some woman came by us shouting, ‘Can you just keep moving?’ and we just thought, ‘Where?’ Everyone’s so grumpy but I’m secretly quite happy because it means I don’t have to go to the gym.”

Ms Turner added: “There was only a few minutes of rain and this happens. I think we’re going to have to walk somewhere.”

Story from BBC NEWS:

© BBC MMIX

Heavy rain and thunderstorms have led to flash flooding in a number of places in Derbyshire.

Ashbourne was particularly affected, with Parkside Junior School sending hundreds of children home when it was forced to close because of flooding.

Several classrooms were under water and it is unclear when the school, which sits alongside a stream on Cockayne Avenue, will reopen.

Insurance adjusters have been called in to assess the damage.

Some roads in the county were covered with several inches of water.

The Met Office warned that 40mm (1.57in) of rain was likely to fall in places within a three-hour period.

Story from BBC NEWS:

© BBC MMIX

Manchester Stadium was built in 2002 for the Commonwealth games

The home of Manchester City Football Club suffered flooding overnight after heavy downpours.

Fire crews spent several hours pumping water from ground floor offices, a store room and lift areas at the City of Manchester stadium.

Police said Alan Turing Way was badly affected when part of a drain system collapsed on Saturday night, causing sewage to leak into the road.

Part of the road is closed between the Asda supermarket and Oldham Road.

Police said motorists should avoid the area.

Lift shafts flooded

Fire crews were called to the stadium, which was built for the Commonwealth Games in 2002, just before 2030 BST.

A spokesman for the fire service said: “The crews worked tirelessly pumping the water from the lift shafts, with water collecting here at the lowest point.

“At the height of the incident the lift shafts contained over 3m (9.8ft) of water.”

The Mancunian Way was also affected by flash flooding, police said.

Story from BBC NEWS:

© BBC MMIX