THE August Bank Holiday weekend could get off to a soggy start with the Met Office warning of heavy rain throughout Saturday.

The organisation has issued a severe weather warning for Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the rest of the West Midlands, along with a large part of England, with only Cornwall and the Scottish Borders likely to get away with going out without umbrellas.

The yellow warning – the least serious of the three tiers of severe weather warnings the organisation issues – predicts heavy showers, some torrential, and thunderstorms starting at about 10.45am, with about 4cm falling in some areas. It is thought conditions in Worcestershire will not improve until around 9pm, while elsewhere in the West Midlands may see the rain ease off earlier in the day.

The Met Office’s chief forecaster said on the organisation’s website: “A frontal zone stalling over much of the area on Saturday will produce spells of showery rain. Some of this rain will be heavy, perhaps with thunder, and locally torrential. “Where the heaviest rain occurs is very uncertain, largely due to the complex fashion in which this frontal zone develops.

Current thinking suggests northern and western parts of the region covered by the warning may improve later on Saturday while further south and east improvement is considered likely to be slower.”

Residents in flood-risk areas are warned to be alert, although homes are unlikely to be flooded and the Environment Agency has not issued any flood warning for the area. Drivers are advised conditions may be difficult with localised surface water flooding possible in some areas and disruptions to public transport are possible.

Sunday and Monday are expected to be dry across Worcestershire and the rest of the UK, while Scotland and Wales are predicted to escape the rain altogether. Anyone concerned about flooding in their area can call the Environment Agency’s Floodline on 0845 9881188. For updates see your Worcester News website.