Met Office issues yellow thunderstorm alerts for much of England and Wales

The Met Office has activated a yellow thunderstorm warning covering the Midlands, large sections of England and the far east of Wales from 03:00 to 22:00 BST on Wednesday, followed by another warning for Thursday from 06:00 to 22:00 BST. Forecasts suggest intense downpours that could deliver 20-30 mm of rain within an hour, with isolated bursts reaching 40-50 mm, raising the risk of flash flooding especially on hardened ground.

Lightning, large hail and possible road closures are also anticipated. While northern Ireland will see lighter showers and most of Scotland will stay dry, parts of southern England that have recorded minimal rainfall this month could see the wettest conditions in weeks. The warnings highlight the difficulty of pinpointing storm locations, as showers may be highly localized and sometimes absent from weather apps.