Weekend-long weather warnings issued as Cheshire braced for thunderstorms and rain

Weather warnings for both thunderstorms and rain have been issued for parts of Cheshire this weekend. The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for Saturday between 1am and midnight covering large parts of the county, including Chester, Crewe, Ellesmere Port and Northwich.

On Sunday, a yellow warning for rain will be in force for the entire day in the South Cheshire area. Met Office Chief Meteorologist Jason Kelly said: "The risk of thunderstorms persists into the weekend with potentially longer spells of heavy rain for some along with a continued risk of hail and lightning accompanying the most intense storms.

"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. Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Harris added: “The area of persistent and at times heavy rain that we are expecting to have developed by the end of Sunday will most likely continue for some parts of southern UK through at least the first part of Monday, before starting to clear eastwards.

"By this time however, confidence falls sharply in terms of both its exact location, and rainfall amounts. We are keeping a further warning for Monday under review, so please keep up to date with the latest forecast for your area."

This change to more unsettled weather will also see a downturn in temperatures beginning in the far north as we head into the early part of next week.

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