Homes could be at risk of flooding in parts of the UK as forecasters warn of thunderstorms, a risk of heavy rain and travel disruption over the next two days.
Power cuts could hit parts of Northern Ireland, eastern Scotland and the north east of England, with the Met Office warning of a small risk of deep floodwater posing a “danger to life” on Thursday.
Northern Ireland as well as Inverness, Aberdeen and Perth in Scotland could see up to four centimetres of rain in three hours with a risk of thunderstorms expected until midnight on Wednesday. Some damage to buildings and train delays are anticipated.
Meanwhile on Thursday, eastern parts of Scotland and the northeast of England down to Lincoln are also under yellow weather warnings, with possible damage to buildings, homes and businesses, and delays and cancellations across train and bus services are expected.
But the storms, typical of summer weather, will make way for more unsettled, but less extreme conditions into the weekend and the start of next week.
Nicola Maxey, spokesperson for the Met Office, told HuffPost UK: “Thunderstorms are typical of summer weather. You get the buildup of heat, and that can lead to thunderstorms, and often the rainfall that we experienced through the summer comes in short, heavy bursts rather than the prolonged rainfall that we see through the winter.
She added: “There’s a standard phrase within the warnings that there’s a risk to life – it doesn’t mean that this warning is any worse or better than any other yellow warning, it’s just that with the impact from the heavy rain, the potential risk is that it could lead to possible injury or worse.”
Those across southern England will witness a different, more pleasant next couple of days, with temperatures in the mid, potentially high twenties across the region.
Maxey said: “But as we head into the weekend, we’ve got some high pressure building, so over the weekend and into the start of the week we’ve got some high pressure building, so (there will be) some fairly settled and bright weather for most people around the country.”