Month of rain falls in just an HOUR before wall-to-wall sunshine predicted for this week

Britons are acceptable to bask different week of wall-to-wall sunshine aft immoderate areas were deluged by astir a month's worthy of rainfall successful conscionable 1 hour.

Lightning strikes, dense showers and hail lashed cardinal and confederate England yesterday day aft the Met Office imposed a yellowish thunderstorm warning.

Ten flood alerts person present been issued by the Environment Agency including 7 for rivers successful the West Midlands arsenic good arsenic 2 successful Hertfordshire and 1 successful Oxfordshire.

It comes amid warnings England faces a hazard of summertime drought aft the driest commencement to outpouring successful 69 years has led to debased reservoir levels, struggling crops and wildfires.

But conditions were besides humid arsenic temperatures deed 27.4C (81.3F) astatine Blackpool successful Lancashire yesterday, portion Scotland saw its warmest time of the twelvemonth truthful far.

Auchincruive successful South Ayrshire deed 25.4C (77.7F) was hotter than Los Angeles and surpassed the 24.4C (75.9F) recorded successful Aboyne successful Aberdeenshire connected April 30.

Temperatures are acceptable to scope 26C (79F) today, followed by 24C (75F) time and past 20C (68F) to 22C (72F) each time betwixt Thursday and adjacent Monday.

The UK's hottest time of the twelvemonth truthful acold remains May 1, erstwhile the state saw its warmest commencement to May connected grounds with 29.3C (84.7F) astatine Kew Gardens successful London.

Met Office forecaster Ellie Glaisyer said yesterday afternoon: 'We person seen rather a fewer thunderstorms breaking out, chiefly crossed cardinal and confederate parts of England, and past moving their mode north-westwards implicit the past mates of hours into parts of Wales.

'One oregon 2 conscionable affecting north-western parts of England arsenic well, we've seen 1 oregon 2 moving retired towards into the Irish Sea arsenic well.'

Radar imagery showed 40mm (1.6in) to 50mm (2in) of rainfall had fallen successful an hr successful parts of England yesterday afternoon, Ms Glaisyer said.

The mean rainfall successful May is 70mm (2.8in), truthful immoderate areas person seen 3 weeks' worthy of rainfall successful conscionable 1 hour.

She went on: 'We've seen reports of hail, plentifulness of lightning strikes arsenic well, each wrong that informing area.'

The thunderstorm informing was successful spot until 10pm past nighttime earlier the showers eased overnight.

There could inactive beryllium immoderate rainfall and thunder crossed confederate England today, but settled upwind volition beryllium mostly successful unit for the remainder of the week.

Met Office lawman main meteorologist Dan Harris said: 'Although a fewer showers are imaginable implicit southwest England and South Wales connected Wednesday, precocious unit volition beryllium firmly backmost successful complaint bringing settled, dry, and for the immense bulk lukewarm and sunny conditions for the remainder of the week. 

'Daytime temperatures volition beryllium good supra mean distant from the coast, with debased to mid 20s Celsius crossed galore central, confederate and occidental areas. 

'Temperatures volition beryllium cooler adjacent North Sea coasts, and the utmost northbound of Scotland with immoderate unreality astatine times. Overnight, wide skies volition mean we tin expect immoderate chilly nights too.'

Looking further ahead, helium added: 'The settled upwind is expected to proceed into the play excessively arsenic precocious unit remains centred implicit the UK, though unreality and aboriginal mist volition astir apt go a spot much widespread, this gradually retreating backmost to coasts done the people of the daytime.'

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said occurrence and rescue services successful England and Wales person responded to 464 wildfires truthful acold this year.