Thunderstorm warnings issued for parts of the UK

Thunderstorm warnings have been issued across parts of the UK.

The Met Office said there were yellow warnings for storms across a number of different areas, with the potential for flash flooding, hail and lightning - but the rainfall will not be enough to ease the drought conditions.

The weather agency added the disruption could include flooding of properties and "some damage to buildings or structures".

A thunderstorms warning for a large zone covering parts of Wales and northern areas of England comes into force at 7pm on Wednesday and runs until 10am on Thursday.

Another yellow warning has already come into force for Northern Ireland, running until the end of Wednesday.

A third storms warning for parts of eastern Scotland will apply from 2pm until 9pm on Wednesday.

The Met Office said people should "be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly" and there could also be some disruption to power supplies.

Earlier this week, the Met Office said that although it was expecting parts of the UK to have the "first meaningful rain for a long time", the sun-baked ground could lead to surface run-off and raise the chances of flooding.

The wetter conditions won't be nearly enough to reverse the weeks of below-average rainfall experienced in much of the country.

Find out the forecast for your area

Wisley in Surrey, for example, has currently had 61 dry days in a row, while Heathrow Airport has measured 55 consecutive dry days, according to Met Office data.

The whole of the UK south of Yorkshire and the Greater Manchester area is currently in drought, according to the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales.

A new hosepipe ban also came into force on Tuesday affecting Wessex Water's 1.4 million customers in Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.

It is the first time it has imposed a ban since the famous long, hot summer of 1976.

It means more than 27 million people in England now have a restriction on hosepipes - which usually still allows for the use of buckets and watering cans.

The country's biggest supplier, Thames Water, has urged people to continue limiting use, saying it's making a "real difference" in maintaining reserves.

It comes as the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales have applied to the English and Welsh governments for a drought order for the River Severn.

The measure means water companies could be forced to reduce the amount they take from the river to prevent parts of it drying out in the ongoing drought.

If granted, it would require Severn Trent Water, South Staffordshire Water, Bristol Water and Hafren Dyfrdwy, to reduce the amount they abstract from the river by 5%, which they have said will not affect water supplies.

Read more from Sky News:
Meta 'hid the truth', landmark trial hears
Disney sues over Trump's 'extraordinary assault on free speech'

The cooler and wetter conditions come after the UK's fifth heatwave of the summer, during which the hottest day of the year was recorded in Kew Gardens, London, when the temperature reached 38.1C.

The UK is facing increasingly severe weather extremes such as heatwaves, droughts and flooding as a result of climate change, caused mostly by burning fossil fuels.

All of Wales and nearly three-quarters of England are in drought as a result of the hot dry conditions.

(c) Sky News 2026: Thunderstorm warnings issued for parts of the UK