Thunderstorms this weekend could cause power cuts, travel disruption and flooding, the Met Office has warned.
The forecaster has issued a yellow warning for severe weather that covers Wales and much of England, including all of London.
Temperatures are set to get warmer as the weekend approaches and possibly hit as high as 30C in some parts, but will then the high pressure will break with a large storm system.
As part of the warning the Met Office said: “This transition in the weather will begin late on Thursday for those in the southwest, with warm air from the south allowing for higher temperatures on Friday as well as a chance of the odd showery outbreak in the far southwest.
“This warmer air pushes further north and east through the weekend, with the possibility of more widespread showers bringing the chance of hail and gusty winds for a few places.”
A yellow warning highlights potential disruption to travel, the chance of power cuts and the possibility of very localised flooding from the heaviest showers. The warning is in place on Saturday from 2pm to 9pm.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Harris said: “Although a plume of warm air will bring temperatures up to around 30°C in some parts of England, it brings with it the risk of some impactful thunderstorms.
⚠️ Yellow weather warning issued ⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) June 8, 2023
Heavy showers and thunderstorms across Wales and parts of southern and central England
Saturday 1400 – 2100
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Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/VyysJZlcS5
“The general focus area for Saturday has become better defined over the past 24 hours, which has resulted in sufficient confidence to issue a “Very Low Likelihood” Yellow Thunderstorm Warning.
“While not everyone in the warning area will see the heaviest showers, or even showers at all, some are likely to be torrential and thundery, with 30-40mm falling in an hour.
“Some spots affected by multiple showers could see in excess of 60mm within the warning period. It’s worth noting that this far from the event the main focus area could change as latest forecast information becomes available, so it’s important to stay up to date with the latest forecast.
“It’s also important to note that this warmer air will also see relatively high night-time temperatures, often staying in the mid-teens Celsius for some.”
Storm Oscar, which has been named by the Spanish Meteorological Service (AEMET), will not be impacting the UK, though will help to drive the warm plume of air into southern areas.
More to follow.
