Royal Navy: HMS Prince of Wales to return to Portsmouth despite storm warning after training exercises - when

HMS Prince of Wales will be sailing back to HMNB Portsmouth tomorrow afternoon (September 20). According to the King’s Harbour Master shipping movements, she is set to sail past The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth just after 2pm.

The 65,000 tonne vessel will be accompanied by a pilot and tug escort. She is schedule to make her return despite a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms.

The alert, issued by the Met Office, will be in place from midday tomorrow until 8pm and covers the city and the coastline surrounding it. Many places are expected to remain dry, but thunderstorms and heavy showers could cause some disruption, the forecaster said.

They added: “A few thundery showers may be present across southern and southeast England early on Friday, but from the middle of the day they are expected to develop more widely within the warning area. Whilst some places will remain dry, where thundery showers do occur, they will bring frequent lightning, gusty winds, potentially some large hail, as well as brief spells of heavy rain.”

HMS Prince of Wales recently completed Operational Sea Training tasks. Her company carried out a range of “peacetime emergencies at sea” - fire training and other operations - while also undertaking routine aviation. Bell Boeing V-22 Ospreys touched down on the flight deck. The exercises began earlier this month, leaving HMNB Portsmouth on September 4.