Friday could FINALLY be the day the rain returns - as the whole of Wales and parts of England are covered by a yellow Met Office thunderstorm warning.

According to forecasters, Friday evening is the most likely time for showers to hit Greater Manchester for the first time in more than 20 days, although there’s also a slight chance it could happen tomorrow night too.

The forecast for Saturday is currently clear and dry, while the weather on Sunday, when the nation could potentially be sitting down to watch England in the final of the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, is expected to be appropriately glorious.

The wind is expected to pick up by midnight on Sunday though.

Grahame Madge from the Met Office said: “On Friday there will be good conditions across the north west, possibly some showers later in the day on Friday.

“There’s a chance some of these showers could carry across the north west.

The heat will continue to drop off in Manchester this week, with temperatures on Thursday not expected to creep much beyond 23 degrees.

Since the end of June temperatures have reached the high 20s and even tipped into 30 degrees as the region basked in sunshine.

But firefighters who have been tirelessly fighting blazes on the region’s moorlands in Tameside and Bolton for more than two weeks are desperately in need rainfall.

According to the Met Office, the last showers in the region were on June 18.

The area covered by the yellow weather warning for thunderstorms on Friday

Remnants of Hurricane Chris are set to hit the west of Britain by the weekend.

The ex-tropical storm has intensified into a Category Two hurricane as it moves north-eastwards away from the east coast of the USA.

But there is still "uncertainty" about the possible path it will take with the risk of remnants heading towards Britain carrying some wet and windy weather Hurricane Chris is currently located between South Carolina and Bermuda and is expected to track towards the far east of Newfoundland, which may be the only location it briefly makes landfall.

In the process, it will turn extra-tropical and accelerate to the North Atlantic. By the weekend, Chris is likely to join the jet stream and its remnants are likely to be carried towards the UK.

Tropical Storm Chris is developing of the coast of the USA

Forecaster Dr Dave Reynolds, of The Weather Channel, said: "Models are in close agreement with the track to Newfoundland but diverge greatly over the North Atlantic.

"Possible tracks include towards Iceland, or further south to north-western Spain.

A mid-way track would take Chris towards the British Isles on Sunday and into Monday. "Current forecasts indicate Chris will be a moderate low pressure in European waters, or a non-event that barely makes north-western Spain before losing identity.

"It will also bring deep moisture from the tropics, which will serve to increase ridging over the mid-Atlantic. Depending on the strength and location of this ridging, Chris may change the pattern over Europe. This makes the evolution of Chris important to watch."

Meanwhile, many parts of England and Wales are on alert for thunderstorms that could finally bring some much-needed rain to the country by the end of this week.

Dove Stone Reservoir in Oldham

An official yellow alert for thunder has been issued for Friday warning of downpours with the risk of flash flooding and disruption to transport. The warning is in place from 11am until 8pm and covers London and the southeast; northwest England; the West Midlands; southwest England and Wales.

It stated: "Heavy showers, which will most likely become thundery in places, are expected to develop quite widely across parts of England and Wales later Friday morning and through the afternoon.

"Some of the showers are likely to become focussed into slow-moving bands, particularly over southwest England, with some locations receiving around 20mm in an hour.

"As is the nature of showers however, many places within the warning area will miss them altogether, and have a dry day. It will be warm in the north and hot in the south where temperatures could top 30C despite the thunder threat."

A spokesperson for The Weather Channel said: "Friday will continue to be mostly dry, however western Britain will be under showery conditions, some of which will turn thundery in the afternoon."