5 days ago
Mapped: Where thunderstorms are set to hit the UK as yellow weather warnings issued
Large swathes of the country are expected to be hit by thunderstorms on Friday as yellow weather warnings come into place.
The Met Office has warned people in almost all of England to prepare for heavy downpours heading into the weekend.
Two yellow warnings for thunderstorms are in place on Friday. The largest one will come into place at 9pm and remain until 6pm on Saturday.
A second, smaller one covering the north east and Yorkshire will come into place at midday and remain until 8pm on Friday evening.
During that time, parts of north-east England such as Durham, Middlesbrough and Yorkshire could see up to 25mm of rain in less than an hour, as well as frequent lightning and large hail.
In the south, rain is predicted to be torrential, with up to 30mm falling in less than an hour, and 90mm in less than three hours in certain places.
Gusty winds, frequent lightning and hail are also likely.
The forecaster has warned of a risk of flash flooding and lightning strikes causing transport delays and power cuts.
Met Office chief meteorologist Jason Kelly, told people to keep an eye on forecasts more warnings could be issued for the weekend and into early next week.
'Within the warm and humid airmass we will potentially see temperatures reaching 30°C 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,' he said.
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, widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue, moving northwards throughout the day.
But temperatures are expected to remain high, topping 30C in parts of central and southern England on Friday, with high levels of humidity expected.
Parts of the UK will also experience warm weather and brighter, drier spells on Friday and throughout the weekend, particularly in east and south-east England.
Next week is expected to continue to have unsettled weather, with a mixture of showers and thunderstorms and sunshine.
Temperatures will be warm depending on the sunshine and conditions may settle by mid-week with showers still in the east.
It comes as Southern Water has become the latest company to bring in a hosepipe ban, to protect rare chalk stream habitat, as England battles exceptionally dry weather.
The company said restrictions on hosepipes for activities such as watering gardens, filling paddling pools or washing cars would come in for households in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight from Monday.
It is the latest announcement by water companies bringing in hosepipe bans in response to the driest start to the year since 1976 for England.
Rainfall across England was 20 per cent less than the long-term average for June, which was also the hottest on record for the country, with two heatwaves driving unusually high demand for water, the Environment Agency has said.
Drought was declared in East and West Midlands on Tuesday, with the region joining swathes of northern England in being impacted by the lack of rainfall.
