The sky above Preston drew dark and threatening during Wednesday (26 July) evening.

Preston and the surrounding area experienced a thunderstorm with torrential rain falling around 9.45pm.

No weather warnings were issued by the Met Office as lightning forked in the sky above the city.

Many Prestonians took to social media to share their pictures and videos from the storm.

While Tom Stables posted this short video showing the intensity of the storm in Penwortham.

There's a thunderstorm overhead and it's glorious pic.twitter.com/ceWXu9hfZv

— Tom Stables (@tomstables) July 26, 2017

This was in Ribbleton from Ryan Wane

@blogpreston pic.twitter.com/hJnAWimm1L

— Ryan Wane (@rwane94) July 26, 2017

Stephen Melling’s picture showed the intensity of the storm in Grimsargh.

The sky went incredibly purple over Ribbleton and Moor Nook as Paul France shows.

How does the weather look for the rest of the week and the weekend?

Thursday (27 July) is going to be sunshine and showers throughout the day – with a few brief interludes. Temperatures will reach 18 degrees by late afternoon.

Friday starts decent with sunshine through until lunchtime – before the rain arrives and we’re in for a damp evening.

Saturday is shaping up to be the best day of the weekend, with sunshine for most of the day – although late morning may see the odd however. Temperatures at 18 degrees.

Sunday we’re back to sunshine and showers but temperatures will be slightly higher.