Weather watchers warn of storms hitting Northampton during Cobblers' play-off clash with Mansfield

Local forecasters are warning some “lively” weather could hit Northampton Town’s crunch promotion play-off clash on Wednesday (May 18).

@NNweather says there is the potential for “thunderstorms and torrential rain bringing flash flooding, hail and winds gusting 50mph for a short period of time”.

Met Office experts’ yellow warning issued early on Wednesday covers the East Midlands — including Northampton on its western edge and all of North Northamptonshire — for a period from 7pm to 3am on Thursday morning.

So the storm’s arrival could coincide with kick-off in Cobblers’ League Two play-off semi-final second leg at Sixfields, where Jon Brady’s side bid to overturn a 2-1 deficit.

The eventual winners will face either Swindon or Port Vale at Wembley on May 28 to decide who gets promoted to League One next season.

Current predictions point to the worst of conditions from around 10pm.

Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir said: “Showers will will push their way northwards, so some heavy bursts to come and even the risk of hail across central areas."

The Met Office yellow warning says developing showers and thunderstorms are likely to intensify through the evening, adding: “Quite a lot of places will probably avoid the heaviest rain and thunder, but others could experience torrential downpours and frequent lightning, while large hail and strong wind gusts may also affect a few places.

"Rainfall amounts will be highly variable but the wettest spots could see around an inch of rain inside an hour.”

Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures as well as possible power cuts.