The Met Office has issued an extended yellow weather warnings for ferocious thunderstorms as the UK battles stifling conditions brought by the heatwave15:57, 25 Jun 2026Updated 15:58, 25 Jun 2026Brits face lightning, hailstone and gusts of 60mph with an extended thunderstorm warning from the Met Office.‌The heatwave brought record-breaking temperatures on Wednesday, with forecasters warning they could rise even higher to 38C today. However, storms have also hit parts of the UK.‌And the Met Office has announced an updated yellow thunderstorm warning for London and South East England, South West England, Wales and West Midlands across the UK for Thursday.‌The warning is in effect from 6pm until 11pm and the forecast suggests the regions concerned will experience frequent lightning strikes as well as strong winds and hailstone.A Met Office forecast said: "After another very hot day, scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to move northeastwards during Thursday evening and night. Whilst many areas will miss them, thunderstorms may produce sudden, gusty winds with 50 to 60mph possible. Frequent lightning, hail and heavy rain are additional hazards."There are also two yellow warnings for thunderstorms issued by the Met Office for Scotland. One runs from 3pm until midnight tonight, while a much larger warning covers all of Scotland on Friday.‌And amid the lightning and torrential rain, there could also be huge hail stones up to 4cm in diameter. The national weather agency states in the Friday warning: "Spells of heavy rain and thunderstorms initially over northwest Scotland are likely to become more widespread during Friday morning. Further thunderstorms and spells of heavy rain are possible in the afternoon before becoming confined to more northern areas of Scotland later in the day."Rainfall amounts will be highly variable but narrow corridors of 20-30 mm falling in 1 hour and potentially 30-50 mm in 3 hours is possible. Frequent lightning, large hail (2-4 cm diameter) and locally gusty winds with stronger storms."The latest alert comes with a rare red warning for extreme heat already in place. Temperatures reached 36.1C in Gosport, Hampshire yesterday, breaking the previous June record from the summer of 1976.‌The heatwave is set to continue into Friday, and the Met Office said it is possible the figure could be “beaten again”. Wednesday’s high breaks the previous top temperature for June of 35.6C in 1976.The Met Office said the exceptional heat will spread northwards on Thursday, “with an even hotter day ahead for some with amber and red extreme heat warnings in force”. However some places might feel slightly cooler due to a brisk breeze in the south, it said.Red warnings for extreme heat have been issued for an area from London and the south coast to Swansea, Somerset and Birmingham until late on Thursday.‌The forecaster warned that “significant disruption to daily life is likely”. If temperatures reach 39C, that would make it the second hottest day in the UK on record.If 38C is recorded, that is still in the top five days ever recorded and hotter than any day of the 20th century. The heatwave has led to health warnings, school closures and transport disruption.There is also a yellow warning for thunderstorms in place for southwest England which runs from 6pm today until the end of the day.‌The current conditions are driven by a “heat-dome” settling over western Europe that has brought extreme weather across the continent.Local regions affected by extended warningLondon and South East EnglandHampshire‌South West EnglandBath and North East SomersetBournemouth Christchurch and PooleBristolCornwallDevonDorsetGloucestershireNorth SomersetPlymouthSomersetSouth GloucestershireTorbayWiltshireWales‌Blaenau GwentBridgendCaerphillyCardiffCarmarthenshireMerthyr TydfilMonmouthshireNeathPort TalbotNewportPowysRhonddaCynon TafSwanseaTorfaenVale of GlamorganWest MidlandsArticle continues belowHerefordshireThis is a Breaking News story. You’ll be more likely to see our stories when any big news breaks in future by simply by clicking this link . You can also join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News , TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage .