The Met Office has issued an urgent update to a weather alert issued on Thursday. Thunderstorms are set to strike across a vast area of the country today with the national weather service advising that the area of effect has now changed.

The forecaster warns that damage to buildings as a result of lightning strikes, disruption to public transport and flooding should be expected.

Weather forecasters have warned that conditions caused by heavy rain over the weekend could turn life-threatening, with showers likely to persist into next week