RESIDENTS are being told to brace themselves for thunder and lightning storms and heavy downpours this weekend.

It comes as the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms across the north west.

The warning will come into effect from 2pm on Saturday, and it will remain in force through to 9pm that evening.

Forecasters are warning that there is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.

Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures, and where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and cancellations to rail services.

They add that there is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be temporarily lost.

Runcorn and Widnes World:

A Met Office spokesman said: “High temperatures developing across parts of England and Wales on Saturday are expected to trigger a scattering of showers across this area.

“Some of these are likely to be torrential and thundery, bringing 30mm to 40mm in an hour.

“The odd place affected by multiple showers could see more than this, perhaps in excess of 60mm.

“As well as rain, hail, strong gusts of wind and lightning will be additional hazards.

“Despite all of this, many places in the warning area will remain dry or only see small amounts of rain due to the well scattered nature of the heaviest showers.”