Many parts of the UK are set to get a break from the scorching heatwave with thunderstorms bringing temperatures down in the next few days, the latest Met Office forecast showed.
A yellow thunderstorm warning spanning Northern Ireland, northern parts of England and Wales as well as southern and north-eastern Scotland was issued on Sunday and is in effect till Monday morning till 6am.
Up to 50mm of rain could fall in under two hours and “large hail and lightning are likely additional hazards”, the Met Office said.
People could also see some flash flooding and strong winds, with possible interruptions to road access and public transport.
The rain is expected to bring temperatures down slightly in some areas after seven straight days of heatwave – the longest for any September in the UK.
Sunday became the seventh consecutive day of 30C weather in the UK with 32.5C recorded in Cambridge. It comes as Saturday was provisionally named the hottest day of the year so far, with 32.7C recorded in Heathrow.
On Monday, the Met Office forecast showed some rain early in the morning which will clear to give way to sunny weather. However, temperatures were expected to be slightly cooler than of late in many areas while others, especially in the southeast, could once again get close to 29-30C.
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“It’s looking likely that we will see the seventh day of temperatures running at 30C or higher, which is unprecedented. We have never seen anything as long-lived in terms of a heatwave in September before,” Tom Morgan, a Met Office meteorologist, said.
By the middle of the week, the weather will get cooler for all with some sunshine, although becoming cloudier with rain from the west later.
More rain is forecast on Thursday and Friday, which may mark an end to the ongoing heat spell as temperatures continue to remain average for this time of the year.