Thunderstorm on way but temperatures to soar for end of summer holidays

A thunderstorm is set to hit the UK on Friday but temperatures are predicted to soar afterwards for a sunny end to the summer holidays.

A yellow wind warning has also been issued for west Wales on Friday with winds between 45 and 55mph expected between midnight and 6pm, the Met Office said.

And a yellow heat-health alert from the UK Health Security Agency is already in place until Saturday at 9am covering the East Midlands, West Midlands, South East, South West, East of England and London, which means minor impacts are likely across the health and social care sector.

The thunderstorm is expected to hit on Friday into the early hours of Saturday and sweep across the country – and the Met Office is monitoring the situation in case another weather warning needs to be issued.

But the rest of the weekend will see a mixture of sunshine and showers and temperatures reaching mid 20s, hitting the high 20s in some areas.

Next week temperatures are forecast to be in the late 20s, with a low chance of hitting the 30s, with showers in the north-west of the UK and sunnier weather in the south-east.

Dan Stroud, meteorologist for the Met Office, said: “On Thursday it will be fine, dry and settled, temperatures reaching into the high 20s.

“Turning increasingly humid overnight from Thursday into Friday, so an uncomfortable night for some.

“On Friday lower pressure will move in bringing heavy showers and potentially thundery showers, then it will sweep right the way across the whole country until the early hours of Saturday morning.

“Once we get those storms out of the way, it looks as if it’s going to be quietening down, sunshine and showers over the weekend and temperatures in mid 20s, scraping into high 20s in some spots.

“There are signals for higher pressure building in the early part of next week in the south, how far north it will go is debatable.

“It’s going to remain generally changeable, temperatures will be creeping up, most likely late 20s, with an outside chance of early 30s and showers in the north-west of the UK.

“In the later part of next week, showers will continue in the north-west, the south-east is more likely to see dry conditions and temperatures in the high 20s.

“It will be generally above average temperature for the time of year as we move towards the closing days of the month, but there are signals that it will become more unsettled as we head into the first week of September.”