Heatwave’s end means an easier night’s sleep (unless you’re woken up by the thunderstorms)
LONDONERS were enjoying the last of the heatwave today with heavy rains and storms forecast to hit the capital before the weekend.
Although temperatures were set to reach about 34C today, widespread thunderstorms will sweep across the nation from tonight with the mercury plummeting to the mid-20s next week.
The Met Office has issued a Yellow weather warning for thunderstorms across the country for the next 48 hours.
Fire crews in Lancashire experienced a foretaste of the predicted tropical conditions with more than 30 flooding incidents overnight.
Met Office spokeswoman Nicky Maxey said the risk of storms in London would increase throughout the week but confirmed some people might have experienced them as early as this afternoon. She said: “The risk of storms increases as the heat does. The rain will be heavy, the kind that makes it hard for drains to cope with and car windscreen wipers, there might be hail too.
“But just because there is a risk, it doesn’t mean everyone will get one. It might be you are in glorious sunshine and then someone a mile down the road is in a downpour.”
The cool-off will come as welcome respite to sleepers. Analysis suggests that there have been 16 nights so far this summer where temperatures have not dipped below 20C. Only eight were recorded in the 30 years before 1995.