UK weather: When will heatwave end? Warnings of thunder & lightning as Met Office issue rain and storm alerts

Thunderstorms, lightning and rain are expected on Sunday and Monday (June 11 and 12) after the UK saw its hottest day of the year as temperatures reached more than 30C on Saturday. The Met Office have issued and upgraded warnings of thunderstorms and rain for the next two days.

It comes as Chertsey in Surrey saw temperatures top 32C on Sunday - but it could be all change on Sunday with rain and storms expected. A yellow thunderstorm warning is in place between midday and 9pm today across Wales and most of western and central England and Scotland.

A spokesperson for the Met Office said: "High temperatures on Sunday will trigger showers and thunderstorms across the warning area, some of which are likely to be torrential, perhaps bringing a few places 30-40 mm in an hour. The odd place, affected by multiple showers, could see more than this, perhaps in excess of 60 mm in a few hours, most likely across Wales and central England.

"As well as rain, additional hazards will be hail, strong gusts of wind, and lightning. Despite this, some places in the warning area will remain dry, or see only small amounts of rain, due to the scattered nature of the heaviest showers."

And on Sunday morning the forecasters issued a rain warning for parts of the south west and south east, saying some places could see 40-60mm in three to six hours, as well as thunderstorms. The warning which is in place from 7pm until 9am on Monday morning, added: "An area of heavy rain is expected to develop and move northwestwards across parts of southern and southwest England and the southern half of Wales during Sunday evening, clearing early on Monday morning.

"This will not affect the entire warning area, but within this a corridor of 10-20 mm of rain is likely and there is a chance that a few places may see 40-60 mm within 3 to 6 hours." The warning covers parts of Wales, Dorset, Bath and Somerset as well as Hampshire and Southampton.

Thunder and lightning warnings from Met Office

Further warnings for thunderstorms have also been issued for Monday (June 11). These cover parts of the East Midlands, the East of England, London and parts of South East England, parts of the North West, South West and West Midlands between midday and 9pm.

Other warnings have been issued separately for parts of Scotland including Grampian, Highlands, Northern Ireland and South West Scotland and Strathclyde for the same time frame.

The warnings said storms and downpours would be slow moving and intense, leading to large amounts of rainfall in a short time. The Met Office has warned of frequent lightning and hail as well in some places, with some doubts over exactly where this could hit.

How long will the heatwave last?

Some places will be lucky enough to avoid the storms and rainfall altogether. More hot weather is expected next week, from Tuesday onwards. A heat health alert is in place until 9am on Tuesday.

The Met Office says it will continue to be hot and humid for many places between Tuesday and Thursday with lots of sunshine, although there is still a risk of thundery and heavy showers in some parts. Night times will continue to be humid.

Settled conditions will continue through next week with the majority of places staying dry. The forecast between Thursday June 15 and Saturday June 24 currently says: "Overall settled weather conditions are expected to be observed at the beginning of the period.

"Light to moderated easterly winds are likely to be predominant. Vast majority of places expected to stay dry, excluding the west and northwest where showers and even thunderstorms may occur.

"Areas in the northwest might experience low cloud drifting from the sea by the start of the weekend, otherwise sunny for most. Temperature likely to remain warm during the day and overnight for most of the country, excluding coastal and some eastern areas.

"As the period progresses, conditions are expected to remain similar throughout with settled and dry conditions likely to remain widespread in the north of the UK. Chance of showers and thunderstorms development over the south."