The Met Office has issued three days of yellow thunderstorm warnings for parts of England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The national weather agency has made the announcement as soaring temperatures and hot humid air are creating the perfect conditions for thunder and lightning.

From midnight tonight almost the entire of Wales, plus Devon and Cornwall, will be under the warning until at least 1pm tomorrow, and from 6am until 9pm on Thursday June 12 there is also a similar yellow alert in place for Northern Ireland. Going into Friday and the whole of the south east of England is blanketed by a thunderstorm advisory from 3pm until 6am on Saturday June 14, with thunderstorms and torrential rain bringing a chance of “disruption”, the Met Office said.

Hazards from thunderstorms can include lightning strikes and sudden flash flooding making driving conditions dangerous and leading to road closures and disruption to public transport. Power cuts caused by lightning strikes are also a possibility and damaging high winds could appear suddenly as storm cells develop.

A statement from the Met Office about the tempest-like conditions said the nation could expect some “intense, thundery showers” starting to appear from tonight. Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Mike Silverstone, said: “After largely benign weather early in the week, some intense, thundery showers will move in on Wednesday evening.

“These thunderstorms are being triggered by some warm, humid air that is moving into the UK from the south. The intense rainfall could see 20-40mm accumulating over just a few hours, which could cause some disruption.”

According to the Met Office, the thunderstorms are being triggered by warm air moving in from the south. While there will be varying degrees of cloud cover across the UK, temperatures will build through the week. Highs of 27°C are forecast for Wednesday, 27°C for Thursday with 29°C possible by Friday. The highest temperatures are expected in southeast and central England.

Mr Silverstone added: “As temperatures rise this week, it is possible heatwave thresholds could be reached in some parts of the UK, particularly the northwest Midlands, northwest England and northeast Wales, however it is very dependent on cloud cover later this week, so it is not a certainty.

“This warm spell will feel different to the fine weather we experienced in May as the humidity will be much higher, making it feel more uncomfortable. Additionally, while in May the nights were still fairly cool, overnight temperatures this week are forecast to remain fairly warm, which can disrupt people’s sleep.”

Today:

Morning cloud across the south will generally dissipate to leave a largely dry and sunny day for many. The far northwest of Scotland though will be cloudy with some rain for a time. Widely very warm.

Tonight:

Showers will begin to affect the west this evening, with a more organised band of thundery rain following overnight. Remaining dry elsewhere, and a warm night for many.

Thursday:

Rain, heavy at times, will continue to move north and east throughout the day. Brighter conditions following but with some showers also developing. Warm and increasingly humid, despite the breeze.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

Staying warm and humid on Friday with another spell of heavy and thundery rain developing, especially later. Staying changeable over the weekend with some further rain but feeling fresher.