Significant damage is expected until the early hours of Friday morning in south east regions of France, including Haute-Loire, Jura and Isère. Alerts have been issued about the possibility of lightning causing forest fire outbreaks in dried out areas which have not seen rainfall for some time.
Yourweather.co.uk has advised people to take precautions to protect themselves and their property from strong winds and to avoid using telephones as well as electrical appliances.
Whole swathes of western France have also been warned of moderate risk of thunderstorms.
There are also warnings of dangerous winds, thunderstorms and rising streams in the eastern Pyrénées.
It comes as thunderstorms have hit south west England, parts of the West Midlands and across Wales.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for those regions with disruption expected between midday and 10pm on Thursday (June 30).
Longer journey by road are expected with driving conditions affected by spray, standing water and hail in some places.
Train services could also be delayed with warning of short term loss of power hitting homes and businesses.
The Met Office is also warning of flooding and lightning strikes damaging buildings or structures.
Heavy rain and gusty winds are forecast to sweep into Northern Ireland on Friday.
A mixture of sunshine and showers is expected over the UK on Friday with more persistent rain over north-east Scotland during the morning and then over Northern Ireland later on.
There will be a chance of thundery showers in places, mostly during the afternoon. Staying rather dry over the south.
Friday night will be largely dry with bright and clear spells for most, although it will be cloudy with rain and showers over Scotland and Northern Ireland.
A band of cloud and showery rain will move in from the west during the night with some heavier patches over Wales and north-western England
Hot weather looks likely to return in July with bookmaker William Hill odds-on at 4/5 for temperatures to peak at between 30 to 34C.
William Hill spokesman, Tony Kenny, said: “The Great British Summer is not very predictable, but it looks as though some hot weather could waft its way into July and we’re now odds-on for temperatures to soar above the 30C mark.
“June saw an unusually high temperature of 32.4c, but we think there are hotter days to come and make it 10/11 for the 2022 record to be set in July.”
