Met Office warns tornado could hit UK as severe thunderstorms hit across country

Brits have been issued a stark warning by the Met Office as weather experts suggested a tornado forming is not out of the question. There may be areas that “could start to see tornado activity”, an expert said as a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms remains in place for parts of the UK.

The alert is in place from 5pm this afternoon until 3am tomorrow morning. Theregions and local authorities affected can be found in the Midlands and the north of England.

Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said potential tornado activity cannot be ruled out and that the weather service will be watching out for signs of potential activity.

READ MORE: Experts say vitamin D deficiency shows in your skin and legs - here are 6 signs

READ MORE: Horror as elderly woman left bleeding after attack in park by ‘gang of girls’

Speaking to The Independent, Mr Vautrey said: “Lots of ingredients have to come together to produce it, but there is the potential as we head into, particularly this evening, once the thunderstorm warning comes in, we could start to see tornado activity in regards to that system... We can’t rule it out. It’s something we’ll be monitoring across the course of the day, but it’s difficult to pinpoint a location.”

He added that the areas covered by the current yellow weather warning are the areas most likely to see a tornado. “Our main focus point is the warning area itself,” he said.

He added: “This is the area where we’ve got the greatest chance of seeing severe thunderstorms into the course of the evening and start of the night – [and] the main area where we’ll be looking out for the potential of tornado activity.”

The Met Office warned the most intense storms could produce “frequent lightning, large hail and gusty winds”, along with a chance of flooding. Parts of eastern England could also see temperatures peak high enough to eclipse the 32.2C seen on Thursday and become the hottest day of the year so far.

An amber heat-health alert for all regions in England is also in place for the whole of the weekend, after heatwaves were triggered across the county and in Wales on Friday. The UK has recorded the hottest day of the year so far as the Met Office said there was a provisional temperature of more than 33C measured in Surrey.

As well as the 33.2C high in Charlwood, temperatures of 26.9C were provisionally recorded in Bute Park in Cardiff and 27.2C in Aviemore in the Highlands, the weather service said on Saturday afternoon. Parts of the country will see the “perfect conditions” for thunderstorms as the heatwave continues, according to the forecaster.

Sunday will see a day of “sunny spells and showers” with highs of around 27C and 28C, Met Office weather forecaster Dan Stroud said. Conditions are expected to feel “a lot fresher” in the west of the UK whilst remaining “very warm and humid” in the east, he added.

“For the vast majority of the country, the temperature is going to be much, much closer to the mid, late June average. As we move our way through Sunday night into Monday, it’s going to feel a lot fresher for us all, a lot more comfortable sleeping conditions.”