Brits are being warned to brace for a possible tornado set to batter parts of the country today - as southern England is pummelled by heavy rain following the driest spring in decades. Met

Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said it was "not out of the question that we could see a funnel cloud, maybe even a brief tornado across parts of the South East" of England on

Wednesday. Southern areas are also facing thunder, lightning, and hail. Burkill added there was a "bit of a North-South split in our weather through today". While Northern parts

have welcomed a lot of fine, sunny weather, the South has seen rain - "and there will be further showery bursts to come as we go through the rest of today," he said. _ THIS LIVE

temperatures cooling into the evening. A Met Office spokesperson said: "Funnel clouds and small scale tornadoes are possible in the UK in the sort of weather set up we have at the

moment, with an unstable atmosphere and warm surface temperatures from the prolonged dry spell and strong sunshine. "Any tornado would only be small scale and there is no warning. The

risk is now diminishing as temperatures cool into the evening." 20:10Liam Doyle MET EIREANN WARNS 'UNSETTLED' WEATHER TO CROSS IRELAND BEFORE CLEARING TOWARDS UK Met Eireann,

the Irish equivalent of the Met Office, has said rain will surge across Ireland en route to the UK this weekend. The forecast for this coming Saturday states weather will become "rather

unsettled" as a system develops in the west and drifts east towards the UK. The forecast warns the rain will initially spread "west from morning", at times "turning

heavy". It adds: "The rain will clear east later in the day with scattered showers following. Highest temperatures of 15 to 19C in freshening southwest winds." 19:44Liam Doyle

HOW COMMON ARE TORNADOES IN THE UK? Today's Met Office tornado warning, which came unexpectedly after conditions in the UK took an unsettled turn, is not the first ever issued.

Surprisingly, the country sees notable tornado activity, with around 30 to 50 strafing their way across the UK each year. The total, according to the BBC, is more per year than anywhere else

in the world aside from The Netherlands. Tornadoes have become so frequent that University of Manchester scientists concluded the country has its own "tornado alley" stretching

from Berkshire to London. On average, communities between the two regions see a tornado roughly once every 17 years. There have been no recorded deaths from a tornado in the UK for more than

100 years, with the last deadly funnel having killed six people in Wales in 1913. 18:41Liam Doyle NO MET OFFICE WARNINGS DESPITE EARLIER TORNADO 'ALERT' Met Office forecasters

have said a tornado or cloudy "funnel" formations are not out of the question, but the Met Office weather warnings page is currently blank, meaning the agency likely doesn't

believe there is an immediate risk to the public. 18:29Liam Doyle FUTURE RAINFALL SET TO BE LESS INTENSE THAN RECENT STORMY CONDITIONS Future rainfall set to sweep the UK in the near future

will likely not be "as intense" as what has been seen so far, today, Mr Burkill said. The wet spells, he added, would be a "real change from what we've become used to so

far this spring". 17:17Liam Doyle MAPS SHOW INTENSE RAIN SURGING OVER UK IN WAKE OF TORNADO WARNING Weather maps have captured the intense rain set to pour over the UK in the wake of

today's tornado warning from the Met Office. They show a cluster of locations primarily on the south coast that are in the path of tonight's storm, and that up to 5mm of rain could

settle over the southeast in the next hour or so. 16:59Liam Doyle STORMY WEATHER SET TO PURSUE BRITS INTO JUNE The long range weather forecast suggests that today's intensely stormy

weather is set to pursue Brits into June. The forecast, which covers May 26 to June 4, warns of more "sunshine and blustery showers" to come over the next two weeks. It states:

"Sunshine and blustery showers for much of the UK on Bank Holiday Monday, with the heaviest and most frequent showers in the northwest. The southeast will likely end up driest and

brightest." 16:44Liam Doyle WEATHER SET TO RETURN TO SUMMERY CONDITIONS TOMORROW AS TO-AND-FRO CONTINUES Following an explosive end to Wednesday, the eather looks set to rally again on

Thursday, gifting Brits some fine and dry conditions as the weekend draws near. The forecast suggests largely dry weather - aside from a few scattered and lighter showers in the southwest

for England - with "a good amount of sunshine on offer". Friday will see more "mostly fine" weather with the weekend set to be more wet and windy. The conditions will

feel familiar for many, with the last week or so having brought breakneck changes in the weather despite the stunning start to the month - which saw temperatures approach 30C as early as May

1. 16:27Liam Doyle FORECASTERS POINT OUT MASS OF STORMY WEATHER IN NEW VIDEO 16:22Liam Doyle MET OFFICE STATEMENT IN FULL AS 'TORNADO' COULD TAKE FORM Met Office meteorologist

Alex Burkill announced a "tornado" could be developing on the horizon today. He said in a statement that it was "not out of the question that we could see a funnel cloud,

maybe even a brief tornado across parts of the South East" of England today. Some southern areas could see a stormy combination thunder, lightning, and hail. The forecaster added there

was a "bit of a North-South split in our weather through today". He continued: "Northern parts having a lot of fine, sunny weather, meanwhile in the South we've seen some

wet weather push its way in... and there will be further showery bursts to come as we go through the rest of today." 16:04Zahra Khaliq STORM FOLLOWS THE DRIEST START TO SPRING IN

DECADES Today's showers come after the driest start to spring in almost six decades. Since Friday, the UK welcomed 80.6mm of rain in spring 2025, almost 20mm less than the record low

for the full season of 100.7mm set in 1852. The Environment Agency has warned of a potential drought this summer if the country continues to see long periods without any rainfall. 15:43Zahra

Khaliq WHEN WILL THE UK BE HIT WITH A TORNADO? According to the Met Office, a brief tornado could arrive across parts of the South East of England today. Southern areas are also set for

thunder, lightning, and hail.