Thunderstorms are set to drench and even flood the UK today in a rollercoaster plunge in weather conditions after the hottest days of the year.
Tuesday was the warmest day so far, reaching 32°C, with people out swimming and sunbathing and heat alerts in place, while yesterday stretched the sun out still further.
That’s over for many, though, with ‘frequent lightning’ expected and some areas set to see a month’s rainfall in a few hours today.
The government has issued flood alerts for parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, while London and the South East are also at risk from surface water flooding and potential travel disruption.
The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning covering much of England and Wales except the far South West and North West lasting all day.
Deputy chief forecaster Dan Holley said the most intense impacts on would be in central, southern and South East areas of England’.
He said: ‘Here some locations will witness torrential downpours, large hail and frequent lightning.
‘A few places could see 50-100mm of rainfall in a few hours.’
It is likely that more weather warnings would be issued at short notice as the storms develop.
The hottest areas on Tuesday were Kew Gardens and Heathrow, which both hit 32°C.
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Those heading out of the UK on holiday were warned of more extreme heat in Europe, with wildfires burning in popular holiday destinations.
Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon when final temperatures are calculated, much of the south of England will have had a heatwave (an official designation when temperatures remain above a certain threshold for at least three days in a row).
As well as the change in weather coming today, there has been a big disparity in how the UK experienced the weather this week.
Overnight on Tuesday/Wednesday, some areas were near tropical and others barely above zero. The Isle of Portland in Dorset was 19.9°C overnight while Tulloch Bridge in Scotland was only 1.7°C.
Mr Claydon said those further south would have been ‘pretty uncomfortable’ with ‘high temperatures, but also high humidity’.
He added: ‘It was very nearly what we call a tropical night where temperatures don’t get below 20°C.’
A weather front approaching from the northwest on Friday will bring ‘fresher air and the end of the heat’ – with lower temperatures expected by the weekend.
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