Thunderstorms and 50mph winds are set to tear through the UK today with an inch of rain

Thunderstorms and 50mph winds tear through the UK with hailstones the size of pound coins found in Cornwall but calmer weather is expected to make a return next week

  • Thunderstorms and winds of up to 50pmh are making their way across the UK today and tonight
  • The autumnal weather will see lightning strike right across southern England, before moving across to Wales 
  • Scotland will take the worst of the rain but England the highest winds with gusts battering coastal areas
  • The outlook for the weekend is brighter: mainly dry with bright or sunny spells, but cool with frost in places

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Storms, thunder, lightning, and winds with gusts of up to 50mph will lash the British Isles over the course of today and tonight but things may look a little brighter for the weekend ahead.

The autumnal weather will see lightning strike right across southern England, including the southeast and southweat, before moving across to Wales by this evening.

Scotland will take the worst of the rain but England the highest winds with gusts of up to 50mph battering coastal areas, according to the Met Office.

Today rain and showers will sweep the UK, particularly in the west and south.  Tomorrow will be another day of sunshine and showers with some more persistent rain over southern Scotland sinking over northeast England and easing

Razor-sharp hailstones the size of POUND COINS rain down on Cornwall 

Razor-sharp hailstones the size of pound coins hammered a popular seaside resort today.

Pictures posted on social media show some of the huge chunks which fell during a violent storm at around 9am in Newquay, Cornwall.

One woman said: ‘[It was] the biggest hailstones I have ever seen!’

Residents also reported hearing heard loud rumblings of thunder, with several lightning strikes spotted out to sea.

The latest forecast says there’s a chance of more storms across various local towns this afternoon. Sadly for lovers of linguistics the stones didn’t fall in Hayle – located just 25 miles down the Cornish coast.

However meterologists forecast a brighter, clearer weekend, with long sunny spells and only patches of frost in places following cooler nights. 

Met Office forecaster Mark Wilson told MailOnline: ‘It’s a day of sunshine and showers, some of which will be heavy and thundery with more persistent rain across the north.

‘It’ll be quite windy in the south as well, with temperatures around where they should be for the time of year: highs in the south of about 16 and across Scotland about 10-12 degrees.

‘As for thunderstorms, it’ll be very hit and miss. Some places won’t get thunderstorms but one or two places will see them – anywhere in the UK could have a thunderstorm.’

He went on: ‘On Saturday night and Sunday fog could definitely be an issue.

‘Saturday is looking showery but by Sunday there should be fewer showers.

‘But there will be some cold nights particularly across Sunday night into Mondau. Across the north some places could drop close to freezing.’

Met Office Five-Day weather forecast

Today: Further areas of rain and showers affecting the UK, particularly in the west and south. Eastern Scotland seeing some more persistent rain developing from later in the morning. Windy in the south with coastal gales.

Tonight: Showers dying out for many but some rain continuing over parts of north Wales, northern England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Winds easing in the south but increasing in the north.

Saturday: Another day of sunshine and showers with some more persistent rain over southern Scotland sinking over northeast England and easing. Windy in the north with gales for the Northern Isles.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday: Mainly dry with bright or sunny spells, but rather cool with early frost and fog in places. Cloud and rain across parts of Scotland on Tuesday.

Source: The Met Office 

The Met Office also predicted 25-30mm of rainfall in the south of Wales.

Tomorrow the day will be mostly cloudy with rain in northern and eastern Scotland,, and gales over the highlands and islands.

Elsewhere there will be a mixture of sunny spells and showers.

The best chance of dry and bright weather is in Northern Ireland and southern England.

Sunday will be mostly cloudy with frequent showers in the north-east.

On Monday it looks set to be fine and dry with sunny spells and variable amounts of cloud.

One or two showers are likely along the south coast during the morning.

The Met Office also warns the clearer skies over Sunday and into the beginning of next week may bring fog and frost in places.

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