Thunderstorms on the horizon after heatwave

The Office has said that isolated heavy, and possibly severe thunderstorms are expected to develop late Wednesday afternoon across parts of Northern England and Southern Scotland.

Some torrential downpours are possible leading to localised surface water flooding, with hail and frequent lightning also possible hazards.

The chief forecaster said: “By Wednesday, a hot and increasingly humid airmass is expected to be in situ across much of the UK.

“This airmass looks conducive to isolated thunderstorm development during the afternoon and into the evening.

“With large amounts of energy available in the atmosphere, storms could be severe, with torrential downpours and hail of up to 1cm in size. 20-30 mm of rain is possible in less than an hour, with as much as 60 mm possible in 3 hours very locally.

“Large uncertainty remains regarding areas most at risk from storms, and many areas will miss these altogether and stay dry. However, where they do develop, very localised significant disruption is possible.”