Yellow thunderstorm weather warning issued for Stamford, Rutland and Bourne by the Met Office for Monday August 15

The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm weather warning for Stamford, Rutland and Bourne.

The warning runs from 6am on Monday to midnight as the service forecasts a break in the heat after what's expected to be another hot weekend.

The Met Office said: "While some places stay dry, thunderstorms are likely to develop during Monday, bringing locally heavy rain and possible disruption."

Temperatures in Stamford, Oakham and Bourne are all expected to top 30C at the weekend.

Disruption caused by thunderstorms includes a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly.

On the roads, spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures while there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services

There is also a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.

As much as people are hoping for rain to free England from drought and near-drought conditions a university professor has warned that people should “be careful” about wishing for heavy rain to cool down temperatures as a downpour could lead to flash floods.

Rob Thompson, who is part of the University of Reading’s meteorology department, posted a video of an experiment on Twitter which used three glasses of water on different grass surfaces to demonstrate what happens when it rains after a drought.

In the first experiment, a glass of water is put on top of wet grass and rapidly soaks into the ground, with the second experiment highlighting that water soaks into grass during a normal summer at a slower pace.

In the final experiment, the water is placed on to what appears to be dry grass and does not seem to budge, highlighting the potential for flash floods to occur if heavy rain follows a heatwave.

Dr Thompson told the PA news agency: “Britain desperately needs rain to break this drought.

“But we should be careful what we wish for.

“Experience around the world has shown what can happen when heavy rain follows a very dry and hot period that has baked the soil hard.

“The water can’t soak in easily, most of it just runs straight off the surface, which can quickly turn into flash floods.

“If you’re praying for rain, you should pray for two days of drizzle, as dreadful as that sounds.”

The Met Office retweeted the post and added: “Dry ground takes more time to soak up water following a #heatwave than if it were during a normal summer. This experiment shows how heavy rainfall following an extended period of extreme heat could lead to flooding.”

There are currently no warnings for the rest of next week when temperatures are in the low 20sC.