Roads flooded and Parklife stopped as thunderstorms hit the north west
Sudden heavy rainfall left people trapped in cars submerged under bridges and flooded lanes on motorways and on major roads in Greater Manchester on the afternoon of Sunday 11 June.
The region had been basking in blue skies and 30C temperatures earlier in the day before the thunderstorms suddenly hit, bringing the first drop of rainfall in 23 days.
As well as causing chaos on the roads, the conditions also affected festival-goers, with all nine stages at Parklife forced to make a ‘full show stop’ as thunder roared and rain lashed down over Heaton Park in Manchester.
The period of heavy rain caused Monsall Road in Monsall to flood beneath a railway bridge, leaving a car and a van completely submerged in the water.
Crews from the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service were called out and were pictured at the scene, where they had to close off the road as they helped two trapped people to safety.
A spokesperson for GMFRS said: "Firefighters rescued two people who were trapped in a vehicle which was taking on water on a flooded street this afternoon on Monsall Road near the railway bridge.
"Firefighters from across Greater Manchester rescued the two people and left the scene in less than 20 minutes."
Water was seen spurting out of overflowing drains as main road Alan Turing Way also became flooded on Sunday afternoon.
On the M60, one lane was blocked causing queues of traffic due to flooding on the carriageway. The lane was closed off on the clockwise carriageway between J27 (Portwood Roundabout) and J1 (Travis Brow).
A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms was put in place from midday on Sunday until 9pm, covering the whole of Greater Manchester and the rest of the north west.
A new weather warning has now been issued for the start of the week with the possibility of heavy rain hitting Greater Manchester again on Monday 12 June.
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