Cliff Notes
- A yellow warning for thunderstorms is in effect for southern England, parts of the Midlands, and most of south Wales from 9am to 6pm on Saturday, with heavy showers expected.
- The Met Office advises potential disruptions to transport services, with possible train delays and power outages due to forecasted rainfall of up to 40mm.
- This warning follows the UK’s record-breaking warmest and driest spring, highlighting a changing climate with increased frequency of extreme weather events.
Yellow warning for thunderstorms issued for large parts of England and Wales | UK News
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A yellow warning for thunderstorms has been issued for large parts of England and Wales on Saturday.
The Met Office warning covers most of southern England, parts of the Midlands and most of south Wales between 9am until 6pm on Saturday.
People in the affected areas are being warned heavy showers and thunderstorms may lead to some disruption to transport services.
Find out the forecast for your area
Delays to train services are possible and some short-term losses of power are also likely.
The UK’s weather agency said 10 to 15mm of rain could fall in less than an hour, while some places could see 30 to 40mm of rain over several hours from successive showers and thunderstorms.
It has also warned of frequent lightning, hail and strong gusty winds.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Dan Suri said most places in the warning areas will be hit by showers, although not all will see storms.
“In this case, it’s difficult to predict where exactly thunderstorms will hit because they are small and fast changing,” he said.
The wet weather comes days after the Met Office said the UK had its warmest spring on record – and its driest for 50 years.
Provisional figures showed spring temperatures surpassed the long-term average by 1.4C – with a mean temperature of 9.5C (49.1F). That beat the previous warmest spring recorded in 2024.
Temperature records were broken in all four nations in the UK – with 1.64C above the long-term average in Northern Ireland, 1.56C above average in Scotland, 1.39C in Wales and 1.35C in England.
In records dating back to 1884, the Met Office said eight of the 10 warmest springs had occurred since 2000 – and the three warmest had been since 2017, in a sign of the changing climate.
Conditions were also incredibly dry this spring, with an average of 128.2mm of rain falling in the UK across March, April and May – the lowest spring total since 1974, which saw 123.2mm.
