Nice while it lasted: Indian summer out with deluge

BRITAIN basked in the hottest October temperatures for seven years yesterday – but experts warned a storm is poised to wash away the Indian summer.

As the mercury hit 25C (77F), they said Storm Callum could bring more than a month’s rain over the next two days in Wales and the North.

The third named storm of the season risks causing deep and fast-flowing floodwater – meaning a danger to life.

Met Office forecasters issued yellow weather warnings for ‘heavy and persistent rainfall’ from 6am tomorrow until midnight on Saturday, with up to 4in due in less than 24 hours.

The alert covers almost all of Wales, Lancashire, Cumbria, the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland. The deluge will be accompanied by winds of up to 80mph and the storm will hit just hours before Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank tie the knot at Windsor Castle.

The Met Office’s Greg Dewhurst said: ‘Storm Callum will arrive on Friday, moving in from the west and hitting Wales and northern England. There will be strong winds and torrential downpours. It will be a big change from the sunshine of the past few days.’

The South East will mostly avoid the bad weather – although the Indian summer will come to an end. South Wales is most at risk, with up to 3. in of rain due in a day.