Temperatures peak on Sunday before thunderstorms bring end to fine weather

Temperatures peaked on Sunday as the UK recorded its hottest day of the year but forecasters have predicted a week of milder temperatures as thunderstorms bring an end to the fine weather.

Chertsey in Surrey recorded the warmest temperature of 27.5C on Sunday while 25.3C was recorded in Usk in South Wales, the Met Office said.

Two yellow thunderstorm warnings remained in place on Sunday evening and further warnings for heavy rainfall have been issued for parts of the country on Monday.

A warning of thunderstorms for the west of the UK, including the majority of Wales, runs until 11pm on Sunday, while another is in place for western parts of Scotland until 3am on Monday.

Honor Criswick, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said the storms might “band together” in areas across the UK, resulting in intense bursts of lightning and heavy rainfall.

She said: “In the areas with heavy showers, it’s expected to get a bit gustier as well, and surface water flooding is also a possibility.”

Spells of heavy rain are also expected to hit eastern areas of Northern Ireland on Monday, with a warning in place from 12pm until 6am on Tuesday.

In areas of south-west England, including Cornwall and Exeter, heavy rain is likely to bring some transport disruption and possible flooding in a few places between 8am and midnight on Monday.

The same warning is in place for southern Wales on Monday, where heavy rain is forecast for areas including Swansea and Cardiff between 8am and midnight.

Ms Criswick said these storms are likely to mean there is a week of milder weather ahead.

She said: “It will still be fairly warm, with temperatures in the high teens and early 20s, but cooler than it has been over the past few days.”

The temperature records for the year were broken three times over the past week, with Thursday, Saturday and then Sunday seeing increasingly hot temperatures across the country.