A yellow weather warning is in place across parts of England this evening as thunderstorms are expected to follow a record-breaking heatwave.
Forecasters declared a heatwave in multiple parts of the country on Tuesday, with amber heat health alerts issued in large swathes of England.
But the hot weather is expected to break on Tuesday evening, with the Met Office warning “isolated intense thunderstorms” could bring disruption to some places.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms covering parts of the south west, the midlands, the north west of England, and Yorkshire and the Humber. The warning came into force at 3pm and is in place until 10pm on Tuesday.
Forecasters later extended the weather warning in East Anglia until 2am on Wednesday.
The weather service said that thunderstorms will bring “heavy rain and frequent lightning to some areas”, and warned spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.
In its warning, the Met Office said: “Where storms occur, heavy rain and frequent lightning is expected and 20 to 30 mm of rain may fall in 30 to 60 minutes in some places.”
Temperatures reached 35C at Kew Gardens in London, breaking the highest minimum temperature in May for a third consecutive day. The figure also provisionally marks a new all-time hottest meteorological spring temperature, beating the record set on Monday.
The health warnings mean there is likely to be a “significant” impact on health and social services, and a rise in deaths, with alerts in place until 5pm on 27 May.
Met Office Chief Forecaster Andy Page said: “The exceptional late-spring heat is set to continue for much of this week.
“Last night provisionally recorded the warmest May night on record, and we’re likely to see further very warm nights in the south over the coming days. There is a chance a few places will experience a ‘tropical night’ in the south of England and in Wales tonight, which is where temperatures don’t fall below 20°C.
“While many places will stay dry and sunny, the heat and humidity mean that a few isolated thunderstorms have developed with more possibly developing later today, particularly across parts of England. Looking further ahead, the focus for the highest temperatures will shift westwards on Wednesday, with northern areas feeling more of the warmth on Thursday.
“We’ll then see a gradual change later in the week, with temperatures easing slightly, though still above average, before a more marked change to near-normal temperatures by Sunday and an increased chance of showers and some longer spells of rain.”
A heatwave has been declared in eight locations in southeast England, which have now met the threshold of 27C for three consecutive days of hot weather.
The Met Office listed 12 locations where the record was topped on Monday – ranging from Suffolk to Berkshire to Warwickshire – while 97 of its monitoring sites reached or surpassed 30C.
The UK’s previous warmest May night was measured on Sunday when temperatures did not fall below 19.4C at Kenley Airfield.
Those forecasts span the Midlands, the south-east and south-west of England, East Anglia and South Wales.
Here’s what the weather authority has forecast over the coming days:
Tuesday
Another very hot day across much of England and Wales with strong sunshine. Fresher across northern areas with sunny spells. A yellow weather warning is in place for thunderstorms until 10pm across much of England.
Wednesday
Dry on Wednesday with sunny spells for many. Cloudier in the northeast but some bright spells slowly developing. Very warm in the southwest, but feeling fresher elsewhere.
Thursday to Saturday
Staying hot across parts of the south through the next few days. A risk of a few thundery showers at times, but largely dry for many.
