Heavy and thundery showers to hit parts of UK as thunderstorm warning activated
The alert is active from 10am to 9pm on Thursday, covering areas including Bristol, Oxford, Southampton, London, Kent and Ipswich.
Forecasters said 25 to 35mm of rain could fall in as little as an hour in some parts of the warning zone, and areas may see up to 60mm in the course of a few hours.
Hail and lightning are possible and there is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, the Met Office said.
The weather could delay buses and trains, cause difficult conditions on the roads, and there is slight chance of power cuts, it added.
A spokesman for the forecasters, Stephen Dixon, said: 'It's important to note that not everywhere within that warning area will see those kind of rainfall totals.
'It's a thunderstorm warning and thunderstorms by their very nature are fairly hit and miss.
'So some areas will see significantly less in the way of rainfall, but where you do see those heavier bursts of rain there's the potential for some impacts which has resulted in that warning.'
Thunderstorms will start in the western part of the warning area and move eastwards as the day progresses.
Temperatures could reach 27C in some places but it will not feel that warm, Mr Dixon added.
The risk of thunderstorms will subside later in the evening and die out overnight.
Elsewhere the UK will mainly be cloudy, with some showers in south-west and south-eastern parts of Scotland.
'It's a bit of a messy meteorological set up over the UK,' Mr Dixon said.
Further weather warnings may be issued for Monday as there is a 'fairly good degree of confidence' that the UK will be hit by 'some very strong winds and some heavy rain', the spokesman added.
He said: 'Really what we're looking at in the medium-range forecast period is the potential for some unseasonably wet and windy weather on Monday.'
Friday is expected to start with showers that weaken through the course of the day.
They will be more frequent in central and eastern parts of England, the Met Office said.
Saturday will be a 'fine day for many' with dry but not particularly warm conditions, Mr Dixon added.
Some rain is expected to move in from west to east during Sunday and will affect much of the UK.
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