Met Office storm warning upgraded to amber - as forecaster warns communities could be cut off by flooding

Fresh warnings for thunderstorms and rain have been upgraded by the Met Office, with the UK forecast to be hotter than Monaco.

Almost a month’s rain could fall over parts of the country in the next 12 hours, with England and Wales expected to see 30mm of rain in an hour on Monday (12 June), with some areas seeing up to 80mm.

Four yellow thunderstorm warnings were issued over a 9-hour period from 12pm to 9pm on Monday, covering parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, much of southern England and the Midlands and most of Wales. But on Monday afternoon, the Met Office upgraded its weather warning for thunderstorms in the Midlands to amber.

The warning, in place until 7pm on Monday, means the region will see heavy rainfall, lightning, strong winds and hail. The Met Office said road closures, rail disruption and power cuts are likely, and some communities could be temporarily cut off by flooding.

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said northern parts of Northern Ireland, south-west Scotland and the Highlands could see 20 to 30mm of rain in an hour during the thunderstorms, and between 40 to 50mm in some areas.

He added that there will be “a few thundery showers” and temperatures “will widely be 24C to 28C with some spots sitting at the 30C to 32C mark”.

The Met Office said the thunderstorms may bring disruption with potential flooding and difficult driving conditions.

But despite the looming downpours, conditions in the UK are still forecast to be hot on Monday, with temperatures tipped to be hotter than Monaco reaching up to 32C.

Mr Stroud added: “The highest temperatures will be around Birmingham and in Wales. It will widely be 24C to 28C on Monday, with some spots sitting at the 30C to 32C mark.

“It will be warmer than Monaco, where it has hit 24.7C on Sunday and is expected to be 22 to 24C on Monday.”

The Met Office said from Tuesday (13 June) onwards there will be slightly cooler temperatures, with Thursday (15 June) and Friday (16 June) in the mid-high 20s.

Mr Stroud said “high pressure is starting to build in” which will “kill off the showers” and “moving into next week the temperature will dip slightly to the mid to high 20s.”

The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber alert for hot weather until 9am on Tuesday in the West Midlands, East Midlands, east of England, South East and South West.

A further yellow alert, which is less serious and says there may be some disruption to services due to weather conditions, is in place for the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber regions of England, as well as London.

The new warnings come after temperatures soared over the weekend, with the mercury reaching 32C at Kew Gardens in south-west London on Sunday (11 June). Thunderstorms also hit a few places with a total of 28.6mm of rain falling in Charlwood, Surrey, on Sunday afternoon - almost half the average for the whole month of June.