Met Office forecast thunderstorms will follow the heatwave

THUNDERSTORMS could strike the New Forest and Christchurch next week, the Met Office has forecast.

The areas were included within a zone affected by a yellow warning issued today (Friday) for Monday, with disruption possible from heavy rain.

The weather could hit from 6am-midnight on Monday in an area covering most of the country, except the east of England.

The Met Office said: "Whilst some places will avoid them, thunderstorms are likely to develop increasingly widely as we go through Monday.

"Storms will probably already be underway for Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland by early Monday, before also developing across parts of England and Wales by late morning and into the afternoon. Storms should begin to ease from the west later.

"Very locally, 20-30mm of rain is possible in an hour, and up to around 50mm in three to six hours. Hail and frequent lightning are also possible."

The forecast said there was a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds, with potential disruption to transport and power cuts.

The New Forest and Christchurch are currently under a Met Office amber extreme heat alert which began yesterday (Thursday) and is expected to last until the end of Sunday.