Flying ants could arrive before the thunder Peter Biela / Flickr.com
Friday is forecast to be the hottest day of the year with tempatures expected to hit 32ºC (90ºF) – but storms are on their way too, spoiling the summer sunshine for many.
What also may be coming is Flying Ant Day – other parts of the country have reported seeing swarms of the insects as the hot weather has continued this week.
Every year, ants grow wings for their mating ritual. The Queen invites males to engage in a game of kiss chase, flying through the streets and cities causing mayhem as they do so.
Only the strongest flying ants can mate with the queen and the favoured conditions are hot, muggy days – and with thunder on the cards tonight and tomorrow, either day could turn out an invasion of the ants in the Thames Valley area.
Reports are coming in of flying ants seen in Brighton and Shoreham areas today, while there have been sightings in Tooting on Sunday. Buzzfeed even devoted a post to it when flying ants appeared in London on July 2.
I, for one, welcome our new ant overlords (thanks @MarianneLevy) #flyingantday #traditionaltweet #sugarcaves pic.twitter.com/qXfyC7M9ec
— Becky Suter (@Becky_Super) July 2, 2014
They’re attacking my keyboard now #flyingantsurvey #flyingantday #f10ant #iAnt #notfreakingout pic.twitter.com/kWEEvLrFcM
— Ridder (@RidderLevitt) July 17, 2014
Heavy rain is expected overnight tonight, with the possibility of thundery showers.
More rain is expected to come in from 10pm on Friday evening, and it is expected to continue until Saturday evening, with some showers being torrential and thundery.
The Met Office has also issued a severe weather warning for Friday night and all day Saturday.
On its website, it warns: “Areas of heavy, thundery showers will develop over England and Wales from Friday night before moving northwards into Scotland during Saturday. The location of these is uncertain but where they do form some torrential downpours are possible with frequent lightning, large hail and locally strong gusts.
“Significant flooding is possible where these do occur from surface water as well as from small, fast responding watercourses. The frequent lightning, large hail and strong gusts could also be an additional hazard.”
#flyingantday Tweets
Last modified on Thursday, 17 July 2014 11:41
