Met Office warns households in England 'charge phones' and unplug landline
The weather experts have warned households in England and parts of Wales that heavy rain and flooding may cause issues for two days solid.
The Met Office has issued a warning for a 21-hour period starting from 9pm on Saturday thanks to heavy rain causing possible flooding or dangers to life.
Parts of England and Wales in particular are set for heavy downpours covering all of the south, London and the midlands as well as parts of Yorkshire, Lancashire and the north.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning from 9pm on September 7 until 6pm on September 8.
As well as its forecast, the Met Office has also issued advice for households expecting or worried about flooding.
First, make sure mobile phones are charged, and keep a spare fully charged battery pack on hand.
This is because thunderstorms and lightning can cause localised power cuts, so it's best to prepare for a loss of connectivity.
Landlines, also, can be cut during storms, so charging your mobile is the best way to be ready.
The experts also urge people to unplug their landline if thunder or lightning is expected in their area. This is because thunder can cut landlines and cause power surges on the line.
The Met Office said: "Check the flood advice in your area to know when and where flooding will happen. Charge mobile phone devices. People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance and it's easy to do. The essentials that could help you cope with a power cut are: battery candles, torches and batteries,a mobile phone power pack.
"Lightning can cause power surges, unplug any non-essential appliances if not already using a surge protector.
"Telephone lines can conduct electricity so try to avoid using the landline, unless in an emergency.
"If your power goes out these simple steps can help you deal with the situation: Switch off all electrical appliances that shouldn't be left unattended, ready for when the power comes back on.
"Leave a light on, so you know when the power cut has been fixed.
"Check to see if your neighbours are safe and if they have a power cut too. If they have power, your trip switch may have activated."
If you do experience a power cut, you shouldn't call your energy supplier or call 999, the number to ring is 105.
The Met Office forecast for the UK says: "A yellow weather warning for rain has been issued for Saturday night and Sunday, covering much of southern Britain. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected to arrive in the southeast on Saturday evening and develop into a more organised band of rain across central and western areas into Sunday.
"Whilst some sunshine is likely to develop in the southeast on Sunday, further slow-moving thunderstorms are likely. This yellow warning is in place until 6pm on Sunday and it is possible that further updates to warnings may be issued during that time, including escalation to amber on a more localised scale if confidence in impacts occurring increases.
"Rainfall amounts will vary considerably within the warning area, with some places seeing less that 10mm of rainfall while others see 40-60mm of rain over the weekend. Some isolated areas, most likely in the southern half of the warning area could see as much as 80-100mm of rain by the end of Sunday, which coming on the back of the already wet conditions, could result in greater impacts than would usually be expected at this time of year here."
