Thunderstorm warning issued by Met Office - but temperatures will remain high

Thunderstorms and heavy rain are set to hit the UK in the coming days – but temperatures will remain high.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for much of England, stating there's a risk of sudden flooding, travel delays and power cuts on Friday and into Saturday. The first warning covers most of England and is in place for 9pm on Friday to 6pm on Saturday.

The second - for parts of the East Midlands, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber - is for 12pm to 8pm on Friday. Check the latest weather forecast here Spray and flooding could cause road closures and even cut some communities off, the Met Office has said, adding that lightning strikes could damage buildings.

Sky weather producer Joanna Robinson said: "Heavy, thundery rain will move in from France on Friday night, pushing northwards across much of England on Saturday, reaching Scotland later in the day. "The rain will be torrential in places, bringing up to 30mm in less than an hour, with 60-90 mm in less than three hours for some isolated spots." Recent dry weather could increase the risk of flash flooding, as torrential rain falling on hard, baked ground will run off rather than being easily soaked in.

Despite the rain, it will still be hot - with temperatures expected to reach the high 20s for much of England. It will remain unsettled on Sunday and into next week, Robinson added.

"There'll be torrential rain for some, with further weather warnings likely when confidence in the detail improves," she said. "The unsettled conditions will continue early next week, but exactly where the worst of the storms will be is currently very uncertain.

"There are signs that high pressure will help settle things down from the west on Wednesday." Read more:Buddhist monk sex scandal grips ThailandTeens aged 16 and 17 to vote in next general election The wet weather comes as England is struggling with its driest start to a year since 1976. Across the country, rainfall was 20% less than the long-term average in June, which also saw two heatwaves rive unusually high demand for water, the Environment Agency said.

With national reservoir levels at 75.6% and currently continuing to fall, droughts have been declared in multiple regions. Hosepipe bans are also hitting millions of homes, with Yorkshire Water announcing restrictions as its reservoir storage dropped to just 53.8%..