UK weather: Thunderstorms and heavy showers over weekend as 'decidedly unsettled' weather continues

South will see highs of 23C despite persistent bouts of rain

Thunderstorms are set to break out across swathes of the UK tonight, with the country set to continue through a bout of unsettled showery weather throughout next week.

Saturday will see "decidedly unsettled" weather featuring heavy showers and sunny intervals, with thunder "likely" this afternoon and into the evening, Met Office forecasters said.

Northern England, southern Scotland, Wales and the West Country will likely see the heaviest rain, before bad weather strikes the Midlands and eastern parts of England later this afternoon.

"Elsewhere there will be showers, with the risk of thunder pretty much anywhere, and then further showery bursts of rain move in later on across Northern Ireland," said forecaster Clare Nasir.

"Heavy showers are likely through the evening, before they are eased through the night."

Sunday will be "fairly unsettled", Ms Nasir said, "with a fair amount of cloud, and further showers which will turn heavy as we head through the afternoon, particularly for Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England, Wales as well as the West Country".

The south and east of England will likely see less rain on Sunday, but it will be back across much of the UK on Monday and heading into later in the week.

Temperatures in the south will peak around 23C on Saturday and Sunday, while northern England and Scotland will see highs of between 18C and 20C.