Overview

• The Met Office issued an amber thunderstorm warning from 8pm Friday to 5am Saturday for East Anglia, East Sussex and Kent, replacing earlier yellow alerts in those areas.
• Forecasters warn of 30–50 mm of rain in a few hours, frequent lightning, large hail and gusts up to 50 mph that could cut off communities and pose danger to life.
• Yellow thunderstorm warnings remain across much of southern England, Wales, northern England and Scotland until early Saturday as the storm band moves north.
• The UK Health Security Agency’s first yellow heat-health alert of 2025 runs until 8 am Sunday after temperatures hit 30 °C in parts of the South East and East of England.
• The Environment Agency has flagged significant surface water flood risks in eastern and south-eastern England and urged residents to avoid driving through floodwater.