Thunderstorm warning includes risk of intense downpours and frequent lightning

A yellow warning for thunderstorms has been issued for large parts of England and Wales today.

The Met Office warning covers most of southern England, parts of the Midlands and most of South Wales between 9am until 6pm. 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 The UK's weather agency has also warned of frequent lightning, hail and strong gusty winds. Delays to train services are possible and some short-term losses of power are also likely.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said Saturday morning will start with "plenty of showery rain around". "[There's] the risk of some intense downpours, especially across southern parts where there's likely to be some thunder kicking off, and this brings some hail and some frequent lightning with it as well.

"It's across southern parts where we have the greatest risk of some disruption and that's because there's the potential for some torrential downpours with 10 to 15mm perhaps in just an hour or so. "We could see totals building up 30 to 40mm in some places if you get a few downpours one after the other...

there could be some localised flooding as well." Read more from Sky News:Trump says Musk has 'lost his mind'Man charged after wrongly deportedIllegal migrant arrests rise 51% Mr Burkill also explained that next week could see further downpours. Potentially "some wetter and windier weather" could hit northwestern areas of the UK late on Monday and into Tuesday as a low-pressure system moves in, he said, adding that the position of the weather front remains uncertain.

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.

Forecasters have also predicted the UK is set for a hotter than usual summer - with an increased risk of heatwaves over the next three months. 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..