Thunderstorms are set to batter parts of the UK on Friday as yellow weather warnings come into force across much of England. Heavy downpours threaten to bring flash flooding and lightning strikes that could cause widespread transport delays and power cuts.
The Met Office has issued thunderstorm warnings covering large areas of the country heading into the weekend. Despite the stormy conditions, temperatures will remain scorching, with highs of 30C expected in parts of central and southern England alongside oppressive humidity levels.
Warnings span 21 hours
The weather warnings will remain in place from 9pm on Friday until 6pm on Saturday. During this period, parts of north-east England including Durham, Middlesbrough and Yorkshire could see up to 25mm of rain falling in less than an hour, accompanied by frequent lightning and large hail.
Southern regions face even more intense conditions, with torrential rain predicted to dump up to 30mm in less than an hour. Some areas could see a staggering 90mm of rainfall in less than three hours, alongside gusty winds, frequent lightning and hail.
Transport chaos expected
Met Office forecasters warn that spray and flooding could create serious difficulties for drivers, with possible road closures threatening to cut off some communities entirely. Damage to homes and businesses is also possible from the adverse weather conditions.
Sunday will bring little respite, with widespread showers and thunderstorms expected to continue moving northwards throughout the day. However, parts of the UK will still experience warm weather and brighter, drier spells on Friday and throughout the weekend, particularly in east and south-east England.
Heat becomes 'uncomfortable'
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," Burkill added. "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."
Unsettled week ahead
The meteorologist explained that stormy conditions will become "pretty widespread across much of the country as we go through Saturday and into Sunday". Next week is expected to continue with unsettled weather, featuring a mixture of showers, thunderstorms and sunshine.
Temperatures will remain warm depending on sunshine levels, with conditions potentially settling by mid-week. However, showers are likely to persist in eastern areas even as the weather begins to stabilise.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
