Yellow thunderstorm warning issued amid heatwave
The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for swathes of England amid rising temperatures.
The forecaster is warning that lightning, heavy rain and flooding could occur in the East and West Midlands, the North East and North West, Yorkshire and Wales.
The yellow warning is in place from 3pm on Saturday to 4am on Sunday. It comes amid predictions that the UK could break its record for the warmest day of the year for the second day in a row, with temperatures up to 33C forecast.
Temperatures reached as high as 32.2C in Kew, west London, on Thursday, amid an amber heat health alert for all regions in England.
The alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for the first time since September 2023, is in force until 9am on Monday.
It warns that 'significant impacts are likely' across health and social care services because of high temperatures, including a rise in deaths, particularly among people aged 65 and over or those with health conditions.
Meanwhile, temperatures are forecast to reach the low 30s and could potentially hit 33C on Friday, the Met Office said. By Friday afternoon, a number of areas are expected to have passed the heatwave criteria, Dan Stroud, a Met Office forecaster, said.
An official heatwave is recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three consecutive days, with thresholds varying from 25C to 28C in different parts of the UK.
Mr Stroud said: 'We're expecting the hot and dry conditions to continue. It does turn a little bit hazier in the west during the course of Friday, but we're still expecting temperatures to reach the low 30s – 31C, 32C – fairly widely, maybe seeing 33C.'
Increasing amounts of cloud will move in from the west on Saturday, with a chance of showers, some of which could be thundery in north Wales and north-west England, while eastern areas will see another dry and hot day, he added.
In what will probably be the peak of the hot spell on Saturday, 34C is possible – still below the June record of 35.6C, set in 1976.
Sunday will be another very warm day in the South and East, probably in the late 20s. Elsewhere, however, it will be cooler, with temperatures in the mid 20s, said Mr Stroud.
Firefighters have responded to more than 500 wildfires across England and Wales so far this year, and the National Fire Chiefs Council is urging people to take precautions to prevent further incidents.
As of Thursday, 564 wildfire incidents had been responded to by English and Welsh fire and rescue services so far this year, a 717 per cent increase on the same period last year and more than double the number seen in 2022, which went on to be the worst year on record for wildfires, said the NFCC.
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