Thunderstorms forecast as hot weather continues across Wales

A week of hot and sunny weather is to bring thunderstorms and heavy rainfall to some parts of Wales and England.

A Met Office yellow weather warning is in place for large parts of England and Wales between 1am and 11:59pm on August 1.

A separate warning is place across the south east of England, with the Met Office stating that a spell of thunder and lightening will begin in some parts today before moving across the country.

Areas impacted by the storms could see between 50mm-100mm of rainfall in just a few hours.

Neil Armstrong, Chief Forecast at the Met Office, said: “The focus for Wednesday’s thunderstorm Yellow warning extends across a swathe of southeastern England from Hampshire to Essex, including London and parts of the Home Counties.

“While many areas will stay dry, a few places could see thunderstorms later today with frequent lightning and heavy downpours possible.”

Dan Holley, a Met Office deputy chief forecaster, said: “The Met Office has issued a thunderstorm warning over a broad geographical area but not all locations will see impacts.

“The most intense impacts are likely to be focussed on central, southern and southeast areas of England.

“Here some locations will witness torrential downpours, large hail and frequent lightning. A few places could see 50-100mm of rainfall in a few hours.”

UK daytime temperatures are forecast to reach highs of 30-32°C, in parts of central and southern England and eastern Wales.

Locally temperatures are set to peak today at 27C, with highs of mid-20s forecast for the remainder of the week.

This will be accompanied by high levels of humidity.

Hot conditions will remain, until a fresher and cooler influence begins from Friday.

According to the Met Office there is still the risk of isolated thunderstorm activity in the east or southeast of England but the frequency and impacts will be much reduced compared with Wednesday and Thursday.