UK could see hottest day of the year so far with thunderstorms set to hit

Thunderstorms are set to hit the UK over the next three days, but forecasters say the country could also see its hottest day of the year.

The Met Office said that some areas may see about two inches of rain in a few hours and winds of up to 50mph between Thursday and Saturday.

Temperatures may reach 30C on Friday, which would make it the hottest day of 2025, surpassing the 29.3C recorded at Kew Gardens in west London on May 1.

It means the parts of the UK could be hotter than Ibiza, Mykonos, and even Los Angeles.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued its first yellow heat-health alert of the year, running from 9pm Thursday to 8am Sunday and covering the east of England, East Midlands, London, and the south east.

Heavy downpours and thunderstorms are expected in Northern Ireland, south west England and Wales on Thursday, potentially causing flooding, power cuts, and travel disruption, the Met Office said.

Forecasters say an inch and a half of rain could fall over a few hours and winds could reach 50mph.

Other regions may see showers, but northern England and Scotland are expected to remain mostly dry and warm, with highs of up to 27C, the Met Office said.

From Friday afternoon, thunderstorms are forecast across eastern and south-eastern England, including London, with up to 50mm of rain possible in a few hours before conditions ease on Saturday morning.

These storms could bring flooding, travel disruption, power cuts, and damage from hail, lightning and gusty winds, forecasters said.

Earlier on Friday, conditions are expected to be dry with temperatures between 27 and 28C but there may be highs of 30C if skies remain clear, the Met Office said.

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: “We’ve got a very warm, humid, spell of wet weather to come.

“It’s all because we’ve got air moving in from the south, so the air is originating across Spain and Portugal and has been moving its way northwards.

“We’re going to see increasingly humid conditions with very warm days and some quite muggy nights as well and the general gist is that western parts of the UK are likely to see the majority of the rain and the thundery showers.

“But, as we go into Friday, we could see some of that also moving across the east and south east as well for some thunder there for a time.”

Under UKHSA and the Met Office’s Weather-Health alerting system, a yellow alert means there could be an increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people.

It may lead to an increase in risk to health for individuals aged over 65 or those with pre-existing health conditions, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Published: 12/06/2025 by Radio NewsHub