Lightning pictured above Mow Cop in Staffordshire
© GREG BUTLERLightning pictured above Mow Cop in Staffordshire
Parts of the West Midlands have been hit by thunderstorms overnight.

Pictures show forks of lightning breaking across the sky in Staffordshire, Shropshire, Wolverhampton and Warwickshire.

BBC Weather Watchers have shared images of the dramatic scenes in their area.

The Met Office had issued a yellow warning for thunderstorms across the region between 14:00 BST on Monday and 02:00 BST on Tuesday.

It said up to 3in (8cm) of rain could fall within the area in the space of three hours.

The overnight storms came after more than 36,000 lightning strikes were recorded around the UK in just 12 hours on Sunday night.


The Met Office describes a thunderstorm as a "series of sudden electrical discharges resulting from atmospheric conditions".

Spokesperson Oli Claydon said the unsettled weather could continue into Tuesday, with scattered showers expected through the day, and the rest of the week but settling by the weekend.

Flood warnings which had been in place for the River Blythe in Warwickshire, the River Stour and Smestow Brook in the Black Country and South Staffordshire, and the Upper Tame had been removed by Tuesday morning.