A FRESH wave of thunderstorms is expected to sweep over Surrey and Hampshire on Friday - prompting the third Met Office ’yellow’ weather warning this week.

Forecasters predict an area of thunderstorms will move across southern England and Wales northwestwards towards Northern Ireland during Friday morning.

This will then be replaced by scattered thunderstorms across southern, central and northwest England, plus Wales and Northern Ireland by the afternoon and persisting into the early evening.

These are likely to bring torrential rain to some places with the potential for 20 to 30 mm of rain to fall in an hour and perhaps as much as 60 mm in a few hours. Frequent lightning and large hail are also possible.

There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.

There is also a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life.

Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services.

Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.

There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.