A thunderous lightning storm is expected to follow the record-breaking heatwave in Surrey and Hampshire on Wednesday afternoon.

On the back of Monday and Tuesday’s ‘red’ extreme heat alert, the Met Office has now issued an ‘yellow’ alert for heavy showers and thunderstorms between 1pm and 9pm on Wednesday.

The Met Office warning reads: “Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop across central, southern and eastern parts of England on Wednesday afternoon.

“Whilst most places will see only small amounts of rain there is a chance of some isolated heavy downpours and lightning. Where these occur a few sites could see 20-30 mm in an hour and 50 mm in 3 hours.”

What to expect, according to the Met Office:

  • Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services
  • Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
  • There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost

It comes after temperatures exceeding 35C were recorded across the Herald area on Monday and Tuesday – with a UK record of 40.2C recorded at Heathrow.

This has resulted in several school closures and the cancellation of sporting fixtures. Read more here.

For the full warning details and updates, see here.