Heavy rain warning issued for Devon

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning as heavy rain is set to return at the end of the week.

Forecasters say a developing area of rain is expected to reach the South West early on Thursday morning, which will continue into Friday.

The rainfall is likely to be heavy and thundery at times, with the potential for torrential downpours in places.

The public should be aware of a significant risk of very localised disruption to travel due to surface water flooding.

Lightning may be an additional hazard.

A Chief forecaster at the Exeter-based agency said: “An area of low pressure is expected to develop just to the northwest of Spain in the next 12 to 24 hours. This system is then expected to push north across Biscay and into the south of the UK early on Thursday.

“With very warm air entrained into the system, locally heavy and thundery rain is likely to develop as the system pushes across parts of England and Wales. 15-30 mm of rain is possible in six to 12 hours, with as much as 50mm possible very locally by the end of Thursday.

“The development of this system is very complex, and uncertainty in the details of this event is relatively high. As such this warning will be updated in the coming days as confidence increases.”

Regional forecast for then next five days:

Today:
It will be a bright and sunny start to the day before cloud starts to bubble up into the afternoon. Staying dry with light winds, it will feel pleasantly warm. Maximum Temperature 21°C.

Tonight:
The dry conditions will continue overnight with largely clear skies. Under this it will feel cool, particularly in rural spots. Minimum Temperature11°C.

Wednesday:
It'll be another dry day on Wednesday with some good sunny spells, once again feeling warm. By evening an area of showery rain will push in from the south. Maximum Temperature 22°C.

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:
It will be a rather wet day on Thursday with potentially heavy showers persisting throughout the day, this will continue into Friday. Saturday will return to dry and bright conditions.