Met Office names 44 areas facing storms and power cuts with 22 hours of warnings

Met Office names 44 areas facing storms and power cuts with 22 hours of warnings The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms covering parts of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland as Brits face power cuts and flooding The Met Office has issued more weather warnings as thunderstorms are set to batter parts of the UK today and tomorrow. One yellow warning covers Nothern Ireland and will come into force at midday, lasting until midnight. A second covers north-eastern Scotland from 2pm until 9pm, while a third covers northern parts of England and North Wales from 7pm until 10am on Thursday. As well as heavy rain, thunder, lightning and hail, the national weather agency says there is a risk of power cuts. "Some flooding of a few homes and businesses [is] likely" too. Delays to train services are also on the cards. "Some short-term loss of power and other services is likely" as well. The weather warning states as much as 20mm of rain is likely in an hour or less in Northern Ireland, with a few places possibly seeing 30mm across a couple of hours. In England and Wales, as much as 50mm could fall across a period of six hours. As much as 30mm is possible in Scotland across "a few hours". The Met Office is urging people in the warning areas to get ready for floods by "preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit". People should also get ready for power cuts by "gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items". UK areas covered by Met Office thunderstorm warnings Northern Ireland - County Antrim - County Armagh - County Down - County Fermanagh - County Londonderry - County Tyrone Scotland - Angus - Aberdeen - Aberdeenshire - Moray Wales - Conwy - Denbighshire - Flintshire - Gwynedd - Isle of Anglesey - Wrexham England - Derbyshire - Darlington - Durham - Gateshead - Hartlepool - Middlesbrough - Newcastle upon Tyne - North Tyneside - Northumberland - Redcar and Cleveland - South Tyneside - Stockton-on-Tees - Sunderland - Blackburn with Darwen - Blackpool - Cheshire East - Cheshire West and Chester - Cumbria - Greater Manchester - Halton - Lancashire - Merseyside - Warrington - East Riding of Yorkshire - North Yorkshire - South Yorkshire - West Yorkshire - York BBC Weather forecast The BBC Weather forecast states: "Today, there will be a mixture of sunny spells, areas of variable cloud, and scattered showers. In the north, the showers will be heavy in the afternoon with some thunder. The south will be drier. "Tonight, central areas of the UK will be cloudy with a more organised area of heavy showers, some locally thundery. Elsewhere, areas of cloud and scattered showers."