Almost a month’s rain could fall over parts of the UK in the next 12 hours – but the country will still be hotter than Monaco.
New weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office for thunderstorms and rain on Sunday and Monday.
Temperatures have already hit 30C in West Suffolk on Sunday but could reach 32C, which would be hotter than Monaco, the forecaster said.
Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said: “We’re expecting Sunday to be another hot day across much of the country.
“We do have rain moving up north and westwards across the English Channel, up towards Bristol and into South Wales.
“We’ve got ourselves a yellow rain warning covering that area, and 10 to 20mm of rain is quite likely in a large area, some could see 40 to 60mm in three to six hours, some places in the West Country could see nearly a month’s worth of rain in the next 12 hours.
“We’ve also got a yellow thunderstorm warning; the high temperatures today are likely to trigger a few thunderstorms during the course of the afternoon and evening until 9pm.
“Some spots could see 30 to 40mm within an hour, so an intense downpour of rain. Some spots could see in excess of 60mm in a very short period – there’s likely to be some hazards from localised flooding and surface water issues.
“On Monday, we’re expecting a fine and hot start, temperatures rising fairly quickly during the course of the morning under strong early summer sunshine and that’s likely to spark a few thundery showers.
“Parts of Wales and England will see 30mm of rain in an hour, 60 to 80mm in some spots.
“North parts of Northern Ireland, south west Scotland and the Highlands could see 20 to 30mm of rain in an hour during the thunderstorms, and 40 to 50mm in some spots.
“It will widely be 24C to 28C on Monday, with some spots sitting at the 30C to 32C mark. It will be warmer than Monaco, where it has hit 24.7C on Sunday and is expected to be 22 to 24C on Monday.”
A yellow thunderstorm warning is in place until 9pm on Sunday covering most of England, Wales and Scotland.
And a yellow warning for rain has been released covering southern parts of England and Wales from 7pm on Sunday until 9am on Monday.
Four yellow thunderstorm warnings are in place from 12pm to 9pm on Monday and cover parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
The yellow warnings mean thunderstorms and rain may bring disruption with potential flooding and difficult driving conditions, the Met Office says on its website.
Slightly cooler temperatures are on the way from Tuesday onwards, with Thursday and Friday in the mid-high 20s, the forecaster added.
The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber alert for hot weather until 9am on Tuesday in the West Midlands, East Midlands, east of England, South East and South West.
A further yellow alert, which is less serious and says there may be some disruption to services due to weather conditions, is in place for the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber regions of England, as well as London.
