A thunderstorm warning is in place for London on Tuesday afternoon as heavy showers are forecast following a week of sunshine and soaring temperatures.
The yellow thunderstorm warning covers the capital plus the East of England and the South East until 8pm on Tuesday, with heavy showers possibly to cause flooding and disruption, the Met Office said.
It comes after sweltering conditions which brought seven consecutive days of temperatures above 30C in London and the hottest September ever recorded.
The Met Office said parts of East and South East England could see 20-30mm of rain fall in less than an hour, with one or two places seeing 40-50mm within two hours, on Tuesday afternoon, leading to some localised flooding.
It added that “lightning and hail may be additional hazards”, though showers and thunderstorms should slowly die out during the evening.
Spray and “sudden flooding” could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures, forecasters added, and there is a “small chance” some communities could be cut off.
A damp afternoon across parts of northern and central England, with rain turning heavy at times 🌧️
— Met Office (@metoffice) September 12, 2023
Bright or sunny spells and showers elsewhere, heaviest and carrying the risk of thunder in East Anglia and southeastern England ⛈️ pic.twitter.com/iM098ORYhQ
Last week’s heatwave broke the record for the most consecutive days with temperatures above 30C in September, with Saharan dust generating vivid sunsets and sunrises in the clear conditions.
Meteorologist Alex Deakin said temperatures will be much cooler this week but “the warmth is still hanging on”.
Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 24C on Friday and Saturday in London with sunny spells, with a few showers forecast for Wednesday.
The mercury could reach 17-19C in sunny spells across Wales, with temperatures just a degree or so shy of that in Northern Ireland, Scotland and across much of England.
