The first summer storm of the year is threatening to cause disruption to a number of popular outdoor events this weekend.

A breast cancer fundraiser and Scotland's biggest multicultural festival are among the events facing a wash-out as forecasters issued warnings for torrential rain on Saturday.

Flood alerts are in place for the Scottish Borders, Edinburgh and Lothians regions, which are expected to be blighted by downpours from late afternoon on Saturday. The alerts, issued by Sepa, are currently at the lowest of three warnings levels meaning that "flooding is possible" and the public should "be prepared".

Meanwhile, the Met Office has also issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain and storms likely to affect the Central Belt and south of Scotland at the weekend. The alert is in place from the early hours of Saturday through to midnight, with the heaviest rain expected to set in from 4pm onwards.

The yellow alert, the lowest warning level, also covers the whole of England and Wales on Saturday although the Met Office said it would not expect to be able to pinpoint the locations for the worst storms until it can gather more data on Friday.

A statement issued along with the warning said: "Heavy, thundery rain is expected to affect parts of England, Wales and southern counties of Scotland during Saturday. The public should be aware of the potential for localised flooding due to the intensity of these storms, although at this stage the location of the heaviest rainfall is uncertain."

The weather warning comes as thousands of fundraisers prepare to take part in the annual MoonWalk in Edinburgh in aid of breast cancer. Participants are due to gather at Inverleith Park from 8.30pm, when the worst of the rainfall is predicted, with the most ambitious fundraisers preparing to walk a double marathon distance of more than 50 miles.

The Scottish branch of the MoonWalk has raised £16 million since it launched in 2006.

According to the Met Office, rainfall in the capital will gradually worsen throughout the day, from showers in the morning to torrential downpours from 4pm until midnight.

Meanwhile, the storms will also hit Glasgow's annual Mela festival which is due to take place over Saturday and Sunday in Kelvingrove Park. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers are among the acts scheduled to perform in the park on Saturday. However, the event will also incorporate indoor activities such as weekend-long screenings of Bollywood films at the Grosvenor cinema marquee.

Heavy rain is forecast all day in Glasgow, but the worst weather is expected from around 4pm, continuing through the evening.

A spokesman for the Met office said the conditions were "nothing too out of the ordinary" for this time of year, but urged the public to keep up to date with any changes to the forecast as the weekend approaches.

He added: "At the moment the warning covers a very big area. There's still a bit of uncertainty about where the heaviest rain will be. On Friday there will be an area of low pressure to the west and that will draw up warm air from the continent. These conditions generate heavy, thundery downpours so we are advising the public to be prepared for flash flooding and surface water on the roads."

It comes days after joint research by the Met Office and Newcastle University warned that global warming could see five times the current number of "extreme rainfall events" exceeding 28mm per hour. This would cause "really severe" flash flooding, said the scientists.