Thunderstorms are moving across many areas within the UK, after some areas have seen the longest stretch of high temperatures since the 60s
Yellow storm warnings currently apply to many regions of England, Wales and parts of Northern Ireland, as well as in south-west Scotland following high temperatures of more than 30C.
There is also a chance of flooding in these regions, with the potential for travel disruption and power cuts in those areas, the Met Office has said. This comes after torrential rain and lightning has hit parts of Scotland.
The yellow warning applies to Wales and most parts of England until the Monday night of next week, with forecasters warning of potential damage to buildings from lightning strikes or strong winds.
This comes after a yellow thunderstorm warning has been issued for all of England and Wales by the Met Office, while eastern Scotland between Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen has a more serious amber warning in place.
As of 15:00 BST, the Met Office has said that thunderstorms had broken out throughout the southern regions of England between Devon and Kent, with frequent lightning storms and heavy downpours, as well as large hail and gusty winds possible in the coming hours of the day.
Earlier, it reported thunderstorms had moved across the southern Midlands, East Anglia and north-west London.
BBC Weather has predicted high temperatures of 29C throughout the south-east of England on Thursday, and cooler temperatures are expected across Scotland and the north-east of England.
Skies across the UK were lit up by lightning as thunderstorms hit on Wednesday evening, following a week of hot weather.
Lightning struck a house in Wrexham, blowing out power sockets and setting fire to a curtain.
Fire crews were also called to deal with flooding incidents around Wrexham, as well as other parts of Wales including Denbighshire and Powys.
“If rain is falling on places that have been quite hot and dry, and the ground is quite hard, the rain doesn’t have anywhere to go, and from that we can see flash flooding,” Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said.
“It’s still going to be warm and humid and that could then trigger some thunderstorms across parts of England and Wales through the afternoon and evening [on Thursday],” he added.
“Generally, the rest of the week remains unsettled with showers, some of them thundery and heavy, but there will still be some warm, sunny spells at times too.”
“It’s not often we get temperatures this high over several days, and that is triggering thunderstorms across parts of England and Wales.”
This comes after three people are now believed to have tragically died after a train derailment in Aberdeenshire, with one person currently unaccounted for, following storms occurring in the area. Torrential rain, as well as thunderstorms across the country, have caused a great deal of flooding and travel disruption across many areas within of central and eastern Scotland.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I am saddened to learn of the very serious incident in Aberdeenshire and my thoughts are with all of those affected. My thanks to the emergency services at the scene.”
