Thunderstorms and heavy rain forecast amid humid weather
Yellow warnings for storms have been issued across much of England on Friday and into the weekend, with the risk of sudden flooding and lightning strikes causing transport delays and power cuts.
Temperatures will remain high, topping 30 degrees in parts of central and southern England on Friday.
Jason Kelly, Met Office chief meteorologist, said: 'More warnings could be issued for the weekend and early next week.
'Keep an eye on the Met Office forecast for updates as the picture develops.
'Within the warm and humid airmass we will potentially see temperatures reaching 30 degrees or more for parts of eastern England by Friday, with very warm and muggy conditions continuing into the weekend in parts of central and southern England.'
The yellow weather warnings are currently in place between 9pm on Friday and 6pm on Saturday.
Met Office forecasters warn that spray and flooding could lead to difficulties for drivers, possible road closures, and the risk that some communities may become cut off as a result.
Damage to homes and businesses is also possible from adverse weather conditions.
On Sunday, the heavy showers are expected to continue, moving northwards throughout the day.
But parts of the UK will also experience warm weather and brighter, drier spells on Friday and throughout the weekend.
Alex Burkill, a meteorologist at the Met Office, warned that the high temperatures could become 'quite uncomfortable' in some parts of the country.
He said: 'In the south and east, there is further chance of staying dry and some decent sunshine on offer.
'So there's a lot of heat around, high humidity as well, quite uncomfortable for some of us.
'As we go into the weekend, with the heat and the humidity, there's a fairly strong chance that we are going to see some heavy, thundery rain, feeding up from the south.
'That is likely to become pretty widespread across much of the country as we go through Saturday and into Sunday.'
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