Met Office thunderstorm warnings as Brits face 36 hours of travel and flooding chaos

Weather forecasters have warned that conditions caused by heavy rain over the weekend could turn life-threatening, with showers likely to persist into next week

Met Office forecasters have warned that thousands of Britons face a long 36 hours of weather havoc, with heavy rain set to cause widespread flooding and lightning strikes to damage buildings.

A thunderstorm warning issued on Thursday that initially covered an eight-hour window on Friday has now been extended to three days, with the weekend looking gloomy for the second week in a row. While the colder conditions have now subsided, forecasters anticipate "intense" storms in the southwest, Midlands and Wales that could tip out up to 2.7 inches worth of accumulated water.

The 36 hours of yellow weather warnings that have been placed over the broad area due to the stormy outbreaks come with a "danger to life" alert. And the organisation's chief meteorologist has said the rain could easily persist into the next week as the severe showers "merge" into a new weather system.

The three different weather warnings released by the Met Office start over a smaller area in southwest England and Wales, covering more than a dozen areas from the East Midlands down. The warning went into effect at 12pm and lasts until 8pm today, during which time people can expect damage to buildings from lightning strikes and widespread traffic delays.

After the initial warning runs the clock, a second, slightly larger alert appears on Saturday from 1am, and lasts for nearly 24 hours until 11.59 pm. The warning covers slightly further north, including parts of the West Midlands, further west and east to the outskirts of west London, and could bring the same 2.7 to three inches of rain over the affected areas.

Once that alert expires, the third and final warning, at least for now, comes into effect from 12am on Sunday, lasting until 11.59am that night. The warning covers broadly the same areas, aside from several towns and cities in the East and West Midlands and northern Wales, and extends slightly further into London, with rainfall totals ranging from 1.1 to 3.1 inches.

The Met Office warns that rain will likely continue beyond the weekend, but to a lesser extent, with "longer spells of heavy rain" on Sunday and Monday. Met Office Chief Meteorologist Neil Armstrong said: "Thundery downpours are expected to develop in places across the south on Friday afternoon bringing frequent lightning, gusty winds, hail, and spells of heavy rain.

"The risk of thunderstorms persists into Saturday with potentially longer spells of heavy rain for some along with a continued risk of hail and lightning accompanying the most intense storms, particularly in parts of the Midlands, southern England and east Wales during Saturday afternoon and evening.

"The warnings cover the areas of the country most at risk of seeing thunderstorms but not everyone within a warning area will experience a thunderstorm. For many much of the time it will remain dry. We are also expecting these showers to merge into longer spells of heavy rain on Sunday and Monday across some southern and central parts, and once the full details become clearer, we may well issue further severe weather warnings so keep up to date with the latest forecast for your area"