The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning as Britons are preparing for a bank holiday washout.
The guidance, released just after 9am this morning, comes into force at 12pm this afternoon and remains in effect until 9pm tonight.
It covers areas in the East Midlands, the East of England, the North East of England, the North West of England, Wales, the West Midlands, and Yorkshire & Humber.
Only Oxfordshire is affected in the London and South East England region.
Gloucestershire in South West England is also covered.
Driving conditions will likely be affected by spray, standing water, and/or hail, leading to longer journey times for cars and buses, the national forecaster has warned.
Delays to train services are possible, with flooding of a few homes and businesses likely, resulting in some damage to buildings and structures.
Lightning strikes could also cause damage to a few buildings and structures, and short-term loss of power is possible.
Temperatures in England and Wales are expected to be around 20-23C, with Scotland and Northern Ireland slightly cooler at 16-20C.
These temperatures are around average for late August.
It will be a welcome cool-down for many after this summer’s warm and humid conditions..
The Met Office is yet to issue an official warning for the weekend.
The mixed conditions on Saturday will see sunny spells, heavy showers and possible thunderstorms.
Highs of 18-22C in England and Wales and 16-19C further north.
Westerly winds will also sweep in and remain in place throughout the weekend.
As for Sunday, further heavy showers, longer spells of rain and a risk of thunderstorms remain a threat to holidaymakers’ plans
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Scotland will likely be the wettest region on Monday, as periods of sunshine will breach the showers.
More rain from the Atlantic is then expected to sweep through the nation.
Winds will pick up across southern parts of the UK
Southern parts of the UK are expected to see temperatures generally ranging from 16C to 23C.
The unprecedented string of heatwaves and lack of rainfall in recent months has brought the driest July in 190 years and has pushed almost three-quarters (71.3 per cent) of England and all of Wales into drought, putting severe pressure on the water system, wildlife, farmers, emergency services and infrastructure.
Many areas of the country are facing water shortages as reservoir levels have fallen to 62.6 per cent, 16.3 per cent lower than is expected for this time of year, according to Defra.
Following an emergency meeting to discuss the heatwave last week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned: “We might be in for a wet autumn and winter straight after this, because of El Nino and some of the issues there, which was reported to Cobra.”
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