Are we going to see thunderstorms across the West Country this week?

Last week was hot and humid with temperatures around 30 °C and thunderstorms affecting a few places. Met Office severe weather warnings are still in force today, because the atmosphere is primed to produce some hefty downpours. However, temperatures are much lower now bringing some relief to that close and muggy feel.

As is almost always the case with showers, not everyone will see them. Last Monday was a classic case in point with plenty of thunder and lightning across Devon and Cornwall but not much activity elsewhere.

Each of the crosses on the map above shows a lightning strike, with white being the most recent and red the oldest. It's expected that further areas of thundery activity will move across the West Country over the coming few days but because there's so much uncertainty as to exactly where they'll form it's worth staying tuned to the forecast and the Met Office warnings.

On Wednesday night there were intense storms across parts of Gloucestershire, with frequent lightning and flooding too. Love them or loathe them these storms have the potential to crop up almost anywhere at the moment, making the forecast very tricky.

As it stands the heaviest showers could give up to 60 mm of rain in 2 to 3 hours, and bearing in mind the August rainfall average is 90 mm it gives you some idea of how heavy the rain could be. This sort of intense, short-lived rainfall is likely to bring localised flash flooding, hail and surface water on roads.