The Met Office has issued an amber warning for severe thunderstorms with intense rainfall, frequent lightning, hail and gusty winds moving into the UK on Friday night and into Saturday.
Yellow thunderstorm warnings are also in place across much of the UK highlighting the potential for disruption in multiple places.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Steve Ramsdale, said: “We are watching developments over northern France closely as thunderstorms develop in the warm, humid air over the continent. These thunderstorms are then expected to move into the southeast of England and East Anglia tonight (Friday night) bringing very frequent lightning, hail, and intense downpours of rain with gusty winds.
“The heavy rainfall could lead to surface water flooding, especially in urban areas. An amber severe weather warning has been issued for parts of the South East and East Anglia, where 30-50mm of rain could fall in a short period of time whilst the strong winds, hail and lightning could bring different impacts such as disruption to power supplies.
“Yellow thunderstorm warnings are also in place for large parts of southern England and Wales. While the warnings cover the areas of the country most at risk of seeing thunderstorms, not everyone within a warning area will experience a thunderstorm. For many, it will remain dry much of the time”
Temperatures reaching their peek for the week
Temperatures are expected to peak today, reaching the high 20s °C widely, with the chance of 29 °C possible in parts of eastern England. After another warm night, especially in the east, where temperatures may stay between 14-16 °C, temperatures will start to dip. A cooler airmass will move in by Sunday bringing a noticeable drop in temperatures across much of the UK.
