Met Office verdict as UK thunderstorm forecast reveals 'intense rain and hail'
The UK faces clusters of humid thunderstorms within days as "intense rain, hail and winds" approach the country.
The Met Office has warned that the UK's week of dry weather will come to an abrupt end this weekend. The latest weekend forecast from the British weather agency shows thundery downpours wreaking havoc on Sunday.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill warned that "we could see some intense rain, hail and gusty winds" at the end of the weekend.
However, the warm temperatures Britons have enjoyed recently could continue, leading to a humid thunderstorm to kick off September. The Met Office said that the warm and humid air moving from the southeast could prompt thunderstorms on Sunday. The unusual conditions could deliver a dose of hot and wet weather simultaneously in the first few official days of autumn.
Like Friday, Saturday is expected to be "another fine and dry day". However, there will be an increasing amount of cloud across the country to end the day ahead of a major weather change overnight into Sunday.
Mr Burkill said: “On Sunday showers look like they could become a bit more widespread, with the greatest chance of some thundery downpours in eastern parts of the UK but they could spread a little further west into central areas too.
"It’s worth noting these thundery downpours could be impactful, we could see some intense rain, hail and gusty winds.”
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Harris said that in between breaks of cloud, temperatures could surge close to 30C early next week.
He explained: “The forecast later this weekend and into the early part of next week comes with larger uncertainties than average, due to the complex interaction of a number of volatile, small scale weather features over and around the UK.
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"Finally, it’s worth also noting that conditions could briefly turn very warm, or even hot, across parts of the south and east, with a chance of temperatures into the high 20s of Celsius for some, but very much dependent on cloud breaks.”
The longer-term forecast for the UK, dated from September 4 to September 13, suggests that "sunny spells and showers will tend to dominate, especially so in the south".
It continued: "Temperatures are expected to be around or a little below average for the time of year, with some chilly nights possible. There is an increasing chance, into the weekend, of further warm/humid weather, with potential for thundery rain, before conditions possibly then turn more broadly settled and cooler from the northwest once again through the following week."
