Met Office issues yellow weather warning as storms to hit South West of the UK

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for thunderstorms in parts of the South West.

Wiltshire and Gloucestershire are expected to see rain, lightning and storms this afternoon (Wednesday 20 July) with the yellow warning in place from 12pm to 10pm.

The Met Office said: "Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop across central, southern and eastern parts of England on Wednesday afternoon.

"While many places will only see relatively small amounts of rain, some slow-moving torrential downpours are possible.

"Where these occur, 20 to 30mm is possible in an hour and in a few spots more than 50mm could fall in three hours.

"Lightning will be an additional hazard, most likely over southern England."

Where are thunderstorms forecasted to hit in the South West?

The yellow weather warning covers parts of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

What disruption are storms expected to cause?

The Met Office says there may be some delays and cancellations to train and bus services, with driving conditions also being impacted as sudden flooding could lead to road closures.

There may also be some short-term loss of power and services to businesses and homes.

The storms come after a day of record heat which saw firefighters face their busiest day since World War Two and major travel disruption across the country.

The temperature is set to drop by up to 10C in some areas today, with heavy showers and thunderstorms predicted to lash parts of the country.

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