Met Office daily weather: Unsettled with heavy rain and thunderstorms

Saturday will bring a notably unsettled spell of weather across much of the UK.

Saturday will bring a notably unsettled spell of weather across much of the UK. Areas of heavy and locally thundery rain will spread north and northwest across England and into Scotland. Behind this, sunny spells will develop, accompanied by scattered heavy and thundery showers, particularly in western areas including Northern Ireland.

A Yellow severe weather warning is in place from midnight on Friday night to 21:00 on Saturday across much of England.  

An Amber severe weather warning has also been issued from 04:00 on Saturday until 11:00 on Sunday covering southeastern parts of England. 

Later in the day, another band of potentially heavy rain is expected to move into southern and southwestern regions. Winds will generally remain light, though breezy conditions may develop towards the far southwest.

Temperatures will be suppressed under persistent rain, with highs in the high teens to low 20s. However, southern areas may see late peaks into the mid to locally high 20s. Northern Ireland and northern Scotland will also reach 21-23°C, with isolated spots in northern Scotland potentially reaching 25-26°C. Overnight, conditions will remain warm and humid in the north and east, while southwestern areas will feel somewhat fresher.

Outlook for Sunday

Sunday continues the unsettled theme, with a mixture of rain bands and showers, some locally heavy with thunderstorms, moving generally northwards. Between these, there will be windows of drier, brighter, or sunny weather.

Further very heavy rain may arrive into the far south and southwest during the morning, progressing eastward across southern areas throughout the day. Scotland will see another focus of heavy, locally thundery rain, though the extreme north and northeast may enjoy the best of the sunshine following the clearance of low cloud.

Winds will remain mostly light, except in the far southwest and extreme north where fresh conditions are possible. Temperatures will be near average, though locally warm in the north early in the day. Maxima will reach the low to mid 20s in sunnier areas, trending down into the high teens and low 20s as the day progresses. Overnight warmth will persist but gradually ease through the period.

READ MORE: Why has it been so warm and humid recently?

Met Office presenter and meteorologist, Aidan McGivern, said: “A thunderstorm warning in force into Saturday for parts of southeast England. And this is the main cause for concern because it's within an area where there is a highly populated region of the UK and the risk of 100 millimetres falling in less than three hours. And that amount of rain, yes, we need it, but in less than 3 hours could cause serious issues falling onto dry ground of course as well. And so the amber warning there in force for parts of southeast England.

“A yellow warning more broadly across much of England due to this area of very heavy rain, frequent lightning, large hail, gusty winds likely to then drift north and expand into a more general area of heavy rain across much of England, particularly towards central and eastern parts and then moving into southeast Scotland and eastern Scotland by Saturday afternoon. So, a very wet spell of weather to come for eastern parts of the UK.

“Further west, we've got further showers developing, humid, still very warm where the sunshine comes through, but temperatures limited where we do see that rainfall. And as we go into Saturday, well, the latter half of Saturday, the main cause for concern, then changes to parts of eastern Scotland where persistent heavy rain followed by further showers could cause uh further issues.

“Now that system tends to push into northeast Scotland by Saturday night. Another system moves into the southwest by Sunday. An area of low pressure bringing strong winds and further heavy rainfall for some southwestern parts with the risk of again localized flooding because of the uh amount of rainfall we're likely to see in some places falling in a short period of time. So yes, of course we need the rain, but we don't need it to all fall at once in less than 3 hours. And that's why there's an amber warning and the risk of localized flooding for southeastern parts of the UK overnight tonight."

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