People on the Isle of Man have been advised to prepare for potential flooding after prolonged heavy rain was forecast. A yellow severe weather warning will be in place from 18:00 GMT until 06:00 on Thursday after Ronaldsway Met Office predicted up to 30mm (1.2 inches) of rain would fall on the island during that 12-hour period.

A volatile weather pattern is setting up for the weekend, with large parts of eastern and central Australia bracing for severe thunderstorms.

Storm Claudia has arrived and could bring up to a month’s worth of rain in a day as heavy downpours batter Staffordshire and large part of the UK. There are around 100 flood alerts in place across England,