Freak storms brought monster waves and more flooding chaos yesterday as the June washout continued to dampen spirits.
But in brighter news, the only thing we will be soaking up next week is glorious sunshine as we get back to sizzling in another mini-heatwave.
Forecasters expect dazzling skies on Monday and Tuesday with the mercury hitting 27C in London and 29C in the South East by Wednesday.
The Met Office ’s Becky Mitchell said: “On Monday we’ll see highs of 24C in the South East and low 20s in central England and Wales. On Tuesday it will start to get hotter, we see temperatures reach the high 20s. It will feel warmer in all parts of the UK.”
But there is a grim patch to weather first and some face major clean-ups before breaking out the barbies again.
Hundreds of homes were flooded yesterday – some for a third time this year.
Emergency services pumped water out of houses in Pentre, Wales, a village flooded twice when Storm Dennis hit in February. Yellow thunderstorm warnings were in place for London, southern England and parts of south Wales.
Ryan Shelton posted footage of a submerged street in Ilkeston, Derbys, and said the flooding was “worse than ever”. The 34-year-old said it was “quite scary” how 20 minutes of rain left 1.2m of floodwater.
Floodgates protected the front of his home but water got in the back via sewage pipes – leaving a “dreadful” scene. Residents had just six sandbags to protect 20 houses and were forced to unblock drains themselves.
And the weather was so unseasonal residents on Cavell Close in Walsall, West Mids, were baffled to wake to what looked like a covering of snow after a hailstorm created a wintry scene in 16C.
Jerry Lovell, 44, said it was like a “Christmas card”, adding: “It was like January. It didn’t last long but was quite a sight, considering we had the barbecue out days before.”
Meanwhile, an RNLI lifeboat rescued two fishermen drifting in a tiny dinghy in turbulent waters off Rhyl, North Wales, on Tuesday.
The Coastguard said: “Blow-up boats and toys are fun in the pool but we do not recommend their use at the seaside.”
UK 5 day weather forecast
Today:
A mixture of cloud, bright or sunny spells and showers. Some heavy showers across northern England, Northern Ireland and then western Scotland during the afternoon.
Tonight:
Rain, some heavy, in the north clearing, then clear intervals with a few fog patches developing in the south later.
Saturday:
A brighter day and feeling warm in the sunshine. A few isolated showers in central and southern areas, but most places dry. Turning wet and windy Northern Ireland later.
Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:
Sunny spells and showers on Sunday; showers most frequent in the northwest. Further rain in the northwest on Monday and Tuesday. Elsewhere mostly dry and increasingly warm and sunny.
