UK weather: Thunderstorm warnings remain in place as drivers stranded by heavy rain and flash flooding on M25

'Frequent lightning, gusty winds' to come with risk of storms as warnings continue

Yellow thunderstorm warnings issued by the Met Office remain in place throughout most of England and all of Wales as heavy rain and hail caused flash flooding on roads and railways on Thursday night.

The alerts will stay in place until Monday, with forecasters warning of the potential for flooding and damage to buildings from lightning and hail.

Drivers found themselves stuck on the M25 for hours due to flash flooding as a deluge of rain fell in southern England on Thursday.

In Kent, 19 people were evacuated from a train that became stuck between West Malling and Borough Green after a landslide, according to British Transport Police.

On Friday, weather conditions will be split between the north and the south, with dry and sometimes sunny weather in the north.

But in the south, there is an ongoing risk of heavy rain and thundery downpours. The forecast for Saturday remains similar, with some of the thunderstorms moving into central parts of the country.

Met Office chief meteorologist Frank Saunders said: “Up until Monday, thunderstorm warnings cover much of England and Wales, with parts of southern England and South Wales seeing the greatest likelihood of impacts.

“The storms will not affect all areas, but there they happen there will be frequent lightning, gusty winds and intense, heavy downpours with 30 to 40 millimetres of rain possible in less than an hour and, in a few unlucky spots, a small chance of 60mm falling in a short period.

“With the continuing hot weather, large swathes of the UK continue to be at risk from thunderstorms, and potentially the impacts from heavy rain, into the early part of next week.”