Thunderstorms sweep across UK but temperatures stay high | UK weather

Thunder, lightning and heavy rain is set to lash large swathes of the UK on Father’s Day.

A yellow Met Office weather warning for thunderstorms almost entirely covers England and Wales between noon and midnight on Sunday, and there is also a warning in place until 9pm in Northern Ireland.

It warns of heavy showers, with as much as 80mm falling within three to six hours in the worst affected regions.

Though many parched gardens will be glad of the soaking, there is also the potential for frequent lightning, strong winds and hail – which could cause flooding, travel disruption and power cuts.

However, the heat will continue, with temperatures reaching the mid-20s.

Grahame Madge, for the Met Office, said: “Some of the storms have the potential to be quite intense, with high rainfall rates. Some locations may well miss them all together but all we can do now is indicate that there is a risk across both countries.”

He added: “We will keep the yellow warning closely monitored and if we need to escalate that for local areas then we will.”

Sarah Cook, of the Environment Agency, said: “On Sunday afternoon and into the night, slow-moving heavy showers and thunderstorms could lead to localised surface water flooding across England.

“Environment Agency teams are out on the ground and will support local authorities in responding to surface water flooding.”

The Environment Agency believes local flooding is possible across the Midlands and parts of Yorkshire and the Humber, east and south-east England, and possible but not expected more widely across England for surface water on Sunday.

The Met Office forecasts a humid night across much of the country, particularly in eastern England, with heavy and thundery rain continuing across northern areas.

Heavy rain in Scotland should gradually clear northwards on Monday. Further south, low cloud should clear to bring another day of sunshine, humidity and showers, perhaps turning thundery at times.