Thunderstorms on cards for parts of England and Wales, forecasters say

Thunderstorms are on the cards for many parts of England on Saturday, forecasters say.

Plenty of showers may arrive as “a particularly intense” band of rain charges east through the South and West – “(so) expect sudden downpours, rumbles of thunder, and dramatic skies”, the Met Office said.

A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms, covering parts of central and southern England and Wales, is in place through to 6pm.

In an online forecast, Met Office meteorologist Ellie Glaisyer said this could be when regions are hit with “the heavier showers, risk of thunder, hail and lightning, perhaps seeing up to 30-35mm of rain across a couple of hours, across much of England and Wales”.

The weather warning states that 10-15mm of rain could fall in less than an hour, while some places could see 30-40mm of rain over several hours from successive showers and thunderstorms.

Up to 40mm of rain could fall in a few hours in some places – more than in the entire month of May.

Met Office data shows England recorded 32.8mm of rain last month – almost half the usual monthly average.

Some heavy downpours look set for north-eastern parts of England and eastern parts of Scotland,  according to Ms Glaisyer.

Sunshine, showers and strong strong, blustery winds are set to reach parts of Northern Ireland and western Scotland.

Temperatures are a little cooler than in recent days, with figures of up to 17-18C  in the South and only 13C or 14C across much of Scotland.

Conditions are expected to improve on Sunday, with a drier day forecast for many, though showers may linger in parts of the North and East.