Thunderbolts and lightning set to strike in 24-hour wet July finale

● Met Office issues yellow warning as recordbreaking month draws to a close

July is set to go out with a bang, with thunderstorms and lightning forecast to light up the sky across Scotland throughout the final day of the month tomorrow.

What has been a recordbreaking month will end with dramatic downpours, which could lead to homes and businesses being flooded.

A yellow Met Office warning for severe weather has been issued for the full 24 hours of Wednesday from midnight to midnight.

Heavy thunderstorms affecting the south of Britain will gradually creep north, covering the areas of greatest population in Scotland.

This will extend to Glasgow and Edinburgh, Central, Tayside, Fife, Grampian, Highland, south-west Scotland, Lothian and Borders and Strathclyde.

Not everyone in the warning area will see the heaviest rainfall, but where it does occur 30mm of rain could fall in an hour and up to 50mm in the space of a few hours.

The Met Office warning states: “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.

“There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing dangerous conditions.

“Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services.

“Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures. There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.”

Parts of Ayrshire witnessed extreme events on Sunday evening when flash floods hit the A77 between Kilmarnock and Ayr. Flooding also affected homes in the Shortlees area of Kilmarnock,whichledtopower cuts.

The west of Scotland had been under another yellow warning for thunderstorms, but while Ayrshire was badly affected other parts of the warning saw little or no rain.

The hottest day of this year so far was recorded on 25 July when 31.6C was reached in Edinburgh. That was followed later in the day by Scotland’s hottest night in history after an overnight minimum of 20.9C was recorded at Achnagart in north-west Scotland.

Temperatures will remain high this week, with 25C expectedinglasgowtodayand tomorrow. Grahame Madge from the Met Office said all the “ingredients” for thunderstorms were now present in an “unstable” atmosphere.