Anyone for tennis? (Picture: AP; Getty; PA; Shutterstock)
It’s raining, it’s pouring – several Wimbledon fans are snoring.
Downpours disrupted play as the tournament entered its sixth day today.
Pictures from the tennis tournament showed hordes of fans sheltering under iconic Wimbledon umbrellas.
Others took to deckchairs for a nap between the delays.
The weekend – full to the brim with planned tennis, cricket, racing and Formula One – had been set for blue skies and sun, until a thunder warning rolled in.
Temperatures were initially predicted to reach 33C on Saturday – the hottest temperature this year – but the latest forecast from the Met Office suggested it will reach 30C or 31C in East Anglia.
The forecast for hot weather saw the UK Health Security Agency issue yellow heat-health alerts for six regions until 9am on Sunday: London, the South East, East Midlands, West Midlands, east of England and Yorkshire and the Humber.
A yellow thunderstorm warning is now in place for Saturday until midnight from London to north-west Scotland, and up to 50mm of rain could be seen in the northern part of the Midlands.
It was a drizzly day for Wimbledon fans (Picture: Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
But Brits prove that they could nap wherever, no matter the weather (Picture: PA)
Some tennis fans got creative with emergency umbrellas(Picture: Amer Ghazzal/Shutterstock)
Hopes for sunshine were dashed after a weather warning was announced(Picture: PA)
The Ashes Test match at Headingley in Leeds has also been disrupted by the weather.
Simon Partridge, Met Office forecaster, said: ‘On Saturday we’ve got very warm, very muggy, very humid air across the UK, we now have this cold front which is just starting to move into the warm muggy air.
‘Thunderstorms started from about 7am, there’s been very heavy downpours already, we’re expecting it to continue throughout the afternoon, the main focus will be the north of the Midlands.
‘Heavy downpours are possible, particularly if you get two or three together in the space of a couple of hours.
‘There is the potential for up to 50mm of rain in a few spots, most likely heavy downpours and difficult driving conditions.
‘We will be keeping an eye on it in case there’s a need to upgrade the warning this afternoon to amber.’
A policeman joins in a game of cricket under the Western Terrace during a rain delayed Day Three of the LV= Insurance Ashes 3rd Test Match between England and Australia(Picture:Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Racegoers shelter from the rain during Coral-Eclipse day of the Coral Summer Festival at Sandown Park(Picture: PA)
Alexander Albon of Thailand driving the (23) Williams FW45 Mercedes in the rain during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit (Picture: Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Heavy rain showers delayed several games at Wimbledon today (Picture: AP)
Cooler air will come through overnight and into Sunday, and temperatures will be lower with a maximum of 25 or 26C predicted, but it will be sunnier.
Showers will develop through Sunday afternoon, with south-west England, Wales and Northern Ireland potentially seeing rain.
Another yellow thunderstorm warning is in place for Northern Ireland on Sunday between 10am and 9pm, and there is the potential for heavy showers, the Met Office said.
Into next week it will be unsettled with rain on Monday and thunderstorms expected on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The temperature will reach the low-to-mid 20s in the early part of next week, the forecaster said.
Mr Partridge added: ‘It won’t be as warm, as humid, and it will be a bit more changeable which probably won’t be good news for people at Wimbledon.’
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It’s raining, it’s pouring – and several Wimbledon fans are snoring.
