Thunderstorms to bring more rain this weekend than all of May
Thunderstorms will bring more rainfall in six hours this weekend than England and Wales saw in the whole of May.
The Met Office has warned that 'all areas' of Britain face torrential rain and thunder this weekend.
Heavy showers would be accompanied by lightning and hail in some places, the forecaster added.
Tom Morgan, a Met Office meteorologist, said 50mm of rain could fall within the space of six hours on Saturday.
He said: 'That is more than what we have seen in the whole of the month of May.
'There will be some heavy downpours with thunder, lightning and hail.
'Most places are at risk of thunderstorms.'
On average, England saw 33mm of rainfall in the whole of May. This was roughly half as much as usual, the forecaster said. Wales had 51mm of rainfall.
Mr Morgan warned people to keep abreast of the forecasts as the weather was looking 'pretty changeable'.
He said: 'There are a lot of outside events taking place this weekend. There is the potential for some disruption.
'We could see some flooding and surface water on the roads. Strong winds will mean temporary structures such as marquees could be vulnerable.
'It is welcome rain, really, for a lot of people, particularly farmers and gardeners.'
On Friday night, a new weather front will bring rain and thunder for the weekend, but temperatures are set to rise next week to just above average for the time of year.
Andrea Bishop, the Met Office spokesperson, said: 'The weather will be changeable for the rest of this week, with everyone likely to see some showers at some point.
'Generally, the theme is the continuation of something a bit cooler, a bit breezy at times, and a bit wet at times too.
'We are keeping an eye on a new front which looks like it will move in on Friday night, bringing rain which could be heavy, and possibly thundery at times on Saturday.
'Rainfall totals of 20-30mm are likely in places and at present, this looks like it will affect the southern half of the UK. We are keeping a close eye on this to see how it evolves over the next 24 hours or so.'
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