Thunderstorms are expected to hit Suffolk on Thursday afternoon – with stifling temperatures set to drop slightly by the end of the week.

Forecasters predicted Wednesday’s hot sunshine would be broken only by the odd thunderclap and briefest of showers in the far west reaches of the county towards the evening.

Elsewhere, the country was being braced for severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall.

Locally, another hot, sticky night, with a few isolated storms will be followed by more dry weather on Thursday morning, according to the experts based at the University of East Anglia.

Weatherquest meteorologist Adam Dury said some early cloud will accompany temperatures of up to 32C – a couple of degrees cooler than on Wednesday.

“Then comes the risk of a few more widespread thunderstorms in the afternoon,” he added.

“They’re likely to last through Thursday night, but ease up a bit on Friday morning.

“There will still be some cloud around – and signs of fresher temperatures – but still not much lower than 19-20C overnight.”

The chance of a few thunderstorms will persist into Friday – with slightly cooler temperatures expected reach highs of around 25C.

The Met Office had issued a ‘high impact’ weather warning covering the entire country on Wednesday.

Some places were likely to see severe thunderstorms, with a small chance of flooding and travel disruption in places.

The UK’s national weather service said many parts would see a good deal of dry weather, but some places could see intense spells of rainfall – measuring 30-40mm in less than an hour.

Large hail, frequent lightning and gusty winds were additional potential hazards for parts of the country – although most thunderstorms were predicted to die out during the evening.

The Met Office moved its yellow weather warning into the ‘high impact’ column due to the potential for some very high rainfall rates in a short period of time.

It said further heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected at times, and may lead to some flooding or travel disruption, both overnight on Friday and between midnight on Sunday and 9pm the following evening.