Met Office warns dramatic UK weather change to start ‘Thursday’

The Met Office has warned the UK of a dramatic change in weather to hit the country THIS WEEK. Most of southern England, the Midlands and much of northern England are covered by the storm warning, which comes into force at 12pm on Thursday.

It ends at 23.59. Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders said: “Much of the UK is entering a spell of warm or even hot weather, with some places in England and Wales likely to meet heat wave criteria over the coming days.

“Temperatures are likely to peak at around 32 degrees Celsius in south-east England on Tuesday and Wednesday, with much of the UK experiencing dry, fine and warm conditions for the first half of the week.” Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said: “As we head into mid-week we are starting to see an increased risk of thunderstorms, particularly in parts of England and Wales, and rain could cause some local disturbances.

READ MORE Foreign Office warns of Greek ‘cultural differences’ that will lead to Brits being arrested

“This is the type of rainfall that could cause surface water flooding. There could also be some lightning and the potential for hail.” There is a chance for some downpours to develop across southern areas for a while ahead of a more patchy Thursday with some potentially impactful thunderstorms at times.

It warns: “ Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected on Thursday and could lead to some disruption.” The affected regions include the East Midlands from Derby and Derbyshire to Leicester, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire.

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and Rutland are also listed with the East of England – from Bedford and Cambridgeshire to Central Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Luton, Norfolk, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea, Suffolk, Thurrock and London and the South East England included.

Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Greater London, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Medway, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, Surrey, West Berkshire and West Sussex are also affected.

Windsor and Maidenhead are also listed, as well as Wokingham and North East England from Darlington and Durham to Hartlepool Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees and North West England from Blackburn with Darwen to Blackpool Cheshire East, Cheshire West, and Chester. Greater Manchester. Halton. Lancashire. Merseyside. Warrington. and South West England from Bath and North East Somerset to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Bristol, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire and North Somerset and Somerset are also listed.

South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Wales and the West Midlands are also affected – from Herefordshire and Shropshire to Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Warwickshire, Worcestershire. Yorkshire & Humber completes the list.