Large swathes of the country are expected to be hit by thunderstorms over the weekend as yellow and amber weather warnings come into place.
People in almost all of England and some of Scotland to prepare for heavy downpours heading into the weekend.
The Met Office has warned parts of southern England are set to be battered by torrential rain on Saturday which could cause “significant” flooding and a danger to life.
An amber warning for thunderstorms has been issued for between 4am and 11am spanning major towns and cities including London, Brighton, Portsmouth, Chelmsford, St Albans and Cambridge.
Forecasters have warned of sudden flooding in roads and homes with some more remote communities at risk of being cut off, while delays to train and bus services are also likely.
The warning area includes London, which is particularly susceptible to surface water issues during thunderstorms due to the high proportion of impermeable surfaces.
Within this area, 20-40mm of rain could fall in an hour, with up to 70-100mm accumulating in just a few hours.
It is one of several weather warnings for thunderstorms issued across the country.
On Friday, two yellow warnings are in place with one covering much of Yorkshire and the north east of England from 11am on Friday to midnight. The alert was later extended to cover the East Midlands.The second will come into place at 9pm until 11:49pm in London and the south east.
On Saturday, two yellow warnings will be in place alongside the more severe amber alert. Most of England will be covered by a yellow warning from midnight to 9pm. Eastern Scotland is also facing a yellow warning from 4pm until midday on Sunday.
A further warning for the south west of England will also come into place ad midday on Sunday and remain until 3am on Monday.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Andy Page, said: “Intense rainfall will impact parts of the UK as thunderstorms move in from France. A range of severe weather warnings have been issued, including an Amber warning covering southeast England and London. The intense rainfall could lead to surface water flooding as well as frequent lightning and hail too.
“The situation is evolving, and warnings may be changed or added. This weekend is expected to be busy on the roads as more schools in England and Wales break up for the summer holidays, so it’s important people keep up-to-date with the very latest forecast. There will be spells of more pleasant weather in parts of the UK through the weekend, with some sunny spells in between systems as they move through.”
Met Office forecasters warn that spray and flooding could lead to difficulties for drivers, possible road closures, and the risk that some communities may become cut off as a result.
Damage to homes and businesses is also possible from adverse weather conditions.
On Sunday, widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue, moving northwards throughout the day.
But temperatures are expected to remain high, topping 30C in parts of central and southern England on Friday, with high levels of humidity expected.
Parts of the UK will also experience warm weather and brighter, drier spells on Friday and throughout the weekend, particularly in east and south-east England.
Next week is expected to continue to have unsettled weather, with a mixture of showers and thunderstorms and sunshine.
Temperatures will be warm depending on the sunshine and conditions may settle by mid-week with showers still in the east.
It comes as Southern Water has become the latest company to bring in a hosepipe ban, to protect rare chalk stream habitat, as England battles exceptionally dry weather.
The company said restrictions on hosepipes for activities such as watering gardens, filling paddling pools or washing cars would come in for households in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight from Monday.
It is the latest announcement by water companies bringing in hosepipe bans in response to the driest start to the year since 1976 for England.
Rainfall across England was 20 per cent less than the long-term average for June, which was also the hottest on record for the country, with two heatwaves driving unusually high demand for water, the Environment Agency has said.
Drought was declared in East and West Midlands on Tuesday, with the region joining swathes of northern England in being impacted by the lack of rainfall.
