Heavy rainfall marked the end of the UK heatwave – but warnings of sudden flooding, power cuts, and ‘danger to life’ storms remain in force and temperatures will increase later in the week.
Wind and rain are set to batter the South West on Sunday while a yellow weather warning will continue to be in place for South Wales.
Southerly winds will gust at around 35mph-40mph and up to 50mph for exposed coasts and hills, while rain will be most persistent over hills with parts of the Brecon Beacons and Dartmoor potentially seeing as much as 60mm-80mm (2.4in-3.2in) of rain, the Met Office said.
However, the low temperatures are expected to weaken as we go through the week and high pressure will start to return, bringing drier and more settled weather. It will warm up in the south with temperatures forecast to reach 90F by next weekend.
Surfers take advantage of the strong winds and powerful waves to take part in the hobby in Brighton and Hove
A wild storm can be seen from the window of a Ryanair plane which aborted its landing at the last moment and circled around
Lightning flashed over the Souter lighthouse in South Shields as heavy thunderstorms marked the end of the UK heatwave
After a night of heavy rain and lightning, large waves crash over this lighthouse this morning in Porthcawl, South Wales
Motorists (pictured) struggled threw the bridge at Stockmans Lane in Belfast after heavy rain fall at the weekend
Drivers had to avoid the middle of this road in Belfast in order to safely travel after a build up of rain had flooded the street
Many were caught in the torrential downpours yesterday while travelling from London’s West End by Oxford Circus Station
Temperatures are expected to soar all the way to 99F (37C) today, before dropping back to the mid-70Fs (mid-20s) tomorrow
Torrential downpours occurred yesterday, with as much as 30mm of rainfall in one hour and 60mm in three hours, while large hail, frequent lightning and strong, gusty winds were additional hazards.
But despite this, many have welcomed the torrential showers after weeks of heat and temperatures reaching more than 95F (35C).
Many took to Twitter to express their joy at finally experiencing some rain this British Summer and posted hilarious snaps illustrating their relief that showers have finally hit the UK.
Tweeting a still of the well-known rainy scene in Shawshank Redemption, Owen Cashman wrote: ‘Live pictures of me walking farm right now #drought #rain #shawshank.’
The movie theme continued with one social media user posting a still of the aged Rose from Titanic saying: ‘It’s been 84 years…’.
Airports across the UK were left in ‘chaos’ as thunderstorms caused travel delays and cancellations.
Stansted, Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Manchester Airport were all heavily impacted by the storms and rainfall, with Gatwick Airport tweeting this morning that ‘adverse weather’ may result in delays and cancellations.
A Stansted Airport spokesman said long queues shown in pictures posted on social media were caused by passengers who stayed overnight in the airport trying to re-book cancelled flights with airlines.
‘There are no cancellations but there are delays because of the knock-on effect and some restrictions because of storm activity in Europe,’ he said.
‘All the advice is, if you are due to travel today, check with your airline about your individual flight.’
On the roads, motorists were warned of lightning, flash flooding and large hailstones as the UK’s heatwave came to a close
No Umbrella? People in London’s West End became creative when trying to cover themselves from the downpour of rain
Torrential downpours were forecast, with as much as 30mm of rainfall in one hour and 60mm in three hours, while large hail, frequent lightning and strong, gusty winds will be additional hazards (pictured London’s West End)
Many took to Twitter to express their joy at finally experiencing some rain this British Summer and posted hilarious snaps illustrating their relief that showers have finally hit the UK
While some will have welcomed the rain and the cooler temperatures, those keen to catch a glimpse of the blood moon, the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century, will have been disappointed.
The cloud cover meant the rare celestial event was not visible to many in Hampshire and Wiltshire in the south and south west, to Hull in east Yorkshire, Liverpool in the north west and Dublin in Ireland.
Yellow warnings for rain have also been issued for Northern Ireland on Saturday, with thunder possible.
Singer Sir Tom Jones was forced to cancel a concert due to the wet weather. York Racecourse tweeted that the show had been called off because of the ‘thunder and lightning storms’.
Will Lang, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said conditions would change over the weekend.
He said: ‘While Saturday will be a pleasant, but breezy day in many places, we are in for a change on Sunday with a wet and windy day in stark contrast to what has been typical recently.
‘We have already issued a Met Office weather warning for the impacts of wind and rain in south-west England and south Wales.
‘Southerly winds will gust at around 35-40 mph and up to 50mph for exposed coasts and hills. Rain will be most persistent over hills and parts of the Brecon Beacons and Dartmoor could see as much as 60-80mm of rain.’
Airports across the UK, such as Stansted pictured, were left in ‘chaos’ as thunderstorms caused travel delays and cancellations
Passengers took to social media to complain about the chaos at Stansted Airport after the heavy storms last night
Friday was forecast to be the hottest day in July and while this wasn’t the case people in Viking Beach in the town of Broadstairs, Kent, felt the heat enough to cool off in the sea
Health warnings have been issued this week after forecasters predicted record-breaking temperatures could reach 35 degrees centigrade in some parts of the country
Wayoh Reservoir, Edgworth, Bolton, Lancashire, UK, owned by United Utilities has now substantially drained for much of its area
Tony Wafer, RNLI community safety manager, said: ‘If you are heading to the coast this weekend, please find out where your nearest lifeguarded beach is and ask the lifeguards for advice on conditions, especially if you are going in the water.
‘RNLI lifeboats and lifeguards have had four times as many rescues of inflatables so far this summer than they did last year.’
Meanwhile, police forces have been called following concerns for people’s welfare at rivers and a lake.
Thames Valley Police said a man’s body was recovered from the Jubilee River in Slough, adding that his death is not being treated as suspicious.
Warwickshire Police said emergency services personnel searching for a 17-year-old boy who disappeared after getting into difficulty in a quarry lake in Bishops Itchington, near Leamington Spa, have recovered a body.
Essex Police said the search for a boy who was last seen in water near Clacton Pier on Thursday evening resumed on Friday morning.
The force was called amid concerns for the welfare of two teenagers and was on the scene just after 6.35pm.
One boy was rescued by a lifeboat crew, checked over by medical teams and reunited with his family, but the second, aged 13, remains unaccounted for.
Britons are complaining the dark clouds and rain brought on by storms yesterday blocked their view of the Blood Moon
Has it happened yet? People in Britain (Ely Cathedral Cambridge pictured) struggled to see the Blood Moon through clouds
Have we missed it?! Stargazers are left disappointed as they watch the cloudy London skyline and fail to see the moon
Clouds are pictured completely covering the skyline and rubbishing any hopes of people in Dublin seeing the Blood Moon
What Blood Moon? A man gazes across the River Thames at the Shard in London as cloud ruins any chance of seeing the moon
Bedfordshire are also looking for a man who got into difficulties in the river Great Ouse on Friday afternoon.
Elsewhere, cross-Channel rail operator Eurotunnel cancelled thousands of tickets after ‘extreme temperatures’ caused major disruption to services.
On UK trains, passengers were urged to avoid travelling on London North Eastern Railway (LNER) on Friday after lightning damaged the signalling system.
Train firm Northern advised passengers not to travel in the Yorkshire area due to the same issue.
On the roads, motorists were warned of lightning, flash flooding and large hailstones.
A mix of toxic air, extreme highs, emissions from the continent and a lack of cloud cover caused a ‘high’ air pollution alert to be issued for London.
Elsewhere, authorities said the heatwave was causing ‘winter conditions’ in parts of the NHS, while many nurses were said to be dizzy and exhausted.