THE Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning with heavy, thundery rain expected to hit the region.

Widespread thundery rain could hit Hampshire this morning before shifting into northern England.

Members of the public are warned to be aware of potential localised flooding due to the intensity of the downpour, although the location of the heaviest rainfall remains uncertain.

A Met Office spokesman said: "Warm, humid air will be pulled northwards from France and Spain late on Friday and during Saturday.

"Within this air mass, there is an increasing likelihood of heavy, thundery downpours breaking out. It is likely that many places within the current broad warning area will miss the worst of the storms, but where they occur they could produce in excess of 20mm of rain in an hour, with one or two places seeing more than 40 mm within 2 or 3 hours, with localised flooding a possibility."