UK Weather Forecast: Met Office Predicts More Than A Month Of Rain In Two Hours

Rain, rain, go away.
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More than a month’s rain could fall in just two hours across parts of Britain on Thursday.

Couple that with temperatures already hitting 30C in central areas, it’s going to feel a tiny bit tropical around these parts.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning regarding two waves of thunderstorms due to last into the early hours of Friday morning.

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A yellow weather warning has been issued and is expected to remain in place until 2am on Friday morning
Met Office

Affected areas could see between 20-30mm of rainfall within an hour and up to 50-80mm in two or three hours.

The average rainfall for the combined areas taking in the south east and central regions, East Anglia, the Midlands and the north east is between 51-60mm a month for July, based on 1981-2010 data. This translates as a lot of water falling out of the sky. 

The usual caveat applies however; given that these are average figures not everyone in the warning areas will see rainfall of that intensity.

Meanwhile, as of Thursday lunchtime, the mercury had crept up to 30C in London and central areas, with 29.6C registered in Kew Gardens and 30C at Heathrow.  

And despite featuring more or less in the centre of the warning area, it looks as if the thunderstorms have skirted to the east of the capital, affecting primarily north Kent and east Sussex.

It won’t be as hot on Friday, though temperatures are expected to reach the upper 20s in south and central areas.

Further north it will be a bit cooler with rain in the north west as a front moves southwards, bringing cloudy and damp conditions to Cumbria, Newcastle and Lincolnshire.

Saturday will also see high temperatures but from Sunday going into Monday there will be heavy rains once more, bringing temperatures down to a cooler 24/25C.