Weather Today: Latest Met Office Updates as Thunderstorms Hit Southern England

As a reminder that the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms in central, south and east England and Wales for the next 24 hours:

According to senior BBC Wales meteorologist Derek Brockway tonight, heavy downpours with thunderstorms hit parts of Sussex and Kent across southern England, with rains spreading north-east:

For more pictures of the stormy weather over the Kent coast tonight, see below:

Weather forecasters today warned that thunderstorms were looming over most of southern England and Wales to end a nearly week-long heat wave.

Our reporter, Celine Wadhera, has the full story below:

The storm cell pictured below is due to move across southern England tonight, according to the Essex Weather Center:

Many people across England should expect a “terrible night” of hot and humid conditions alongside damp weather when the country’s heatwave comes to an end, according to the Met Office.

“The rain will be quite heavy and will fall up to 30 mm in a relatively short time,” said forecaster Simon Partridge of the PA news agency.

“It’s going to be a terrible night for many, especially if you’re trying to get some sleep, as it stays quite hot and humid in London and the Southeast at 17-18 ° C combined with the humid weather.”

It looks like thunderstorms are now starting to hit the south coast of England, ending the recent long stretch of warm weather in the UK:

Here is the latest forecast from the Met Office across the UK for early Thursday morning:

England has now been struck by lightning. The strike was recorded at Arlington Reservoir in Berwick, East Sussex.

Many more are expected that night.

Lightning strikes should currently be visible off the Sussex coast. (Remember we asked for your pictures!)

Although it is raining across much of southern England now, lightning has not yet reached these coasts.

LightningMaps.org shows where strikes are recorded live. If you are afraid of lightning and thunder, avoid going to their location and looking at the west coast of France and northeastern Spain.