Met Office forecasts hottest day of year on Sunday with Brits to bake in 27C before thunderstorms descend

11 May 2024, 19:12

The Met Office has confirmed that Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far - with Sunday set to get even hotter for sun-seeking Brits before torrential rain returns next week.

Temperatures peaked at 25.9C in Herstmonceux, East Sussex on Saturday, the forecaster said.

But Simon Partridge, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said the records were "not likely to last long" as forecasters expect it to be even warmer on Sunday.

He added: "The difference tomorrow is that it is not likely to be as warm for Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland.

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"The really warm air will probably be confined to southern and eastern parts of England, with temperatures expected to peak in central parts of the country at around 27C."

But the summer climate may be put on hold afterwards, as heavy showers and thunderstorms are set to sweep the UK, with the Met Office issuing a 'danger to life' warning.

Two yellow thunderstorm warnings were put in place for Sunday afternoon across the west of England and Wales and parts of Northern Ireland.

The Met Office warned that flooding and power cuts should be expected due to the heavy downpours.

Deep floodwater could cause a danger to life, particularly in places such as road and railway underpasses, they said.

Up to 30mm of rain is expected to fall in less than an hour, resulting in travel disruption too.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: "Things are going to turn pretty wet as we go through Sunday and into the beginning of next week."

He continued: "Sunday gets off to a similar start to Saturday for many places…

"It’s going to be fine, especially in the east into the afternoon, but further west we will see some showery rain developing and this could turn heavy and possibly even thundery.

"There may not be quite as much showery rain and it may not be quite as intense but there is the potential for some torrential downpours and thundery outbursts."