UK weather: When will the sun return?

Torrential downpours and thundery showers are expected to bring an abrupt end to Britain's sunshine.

Temperatures reached 27C on Monday but two yellow warnings for rain have been issued by the Met Office for today, with "very warm conditions" allowing showers, thunder and hail to develop nationwide.

Forecaster Alex Burkill said the first warning covers central Wales through to the Midlands and south-east England while the second covers parts of northern England and central and southern Scotland. He added that hail and thunder is very likely.

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Heavy showers are also expected to batter London, with a risk of hail throughout the afternoon and evening. Although the city was graced with sunny spells and temperatures of 25C this morning, cloud is expected to bring scattered, thundery showers.

The Met Office's chief forecaster warned that warm, moist air from the continent will become unstable when it becomes exposed to a separate weather front coming from the Atlantic, "bringing the risk of 20mm [0.75ins] or more in an hour and 50mm [1.9ins] in a few hours", the Evening Standard reports.

This level of rainfall throughout the course of the day is likely to cause flooding and travel disruption. Temperatures, however, will remain warm, with 27C expected in the London area and 25C in parts of central Scotland.

Moving through the week, Thursday is forecast to be largely dry but a mass of cloud means that sunshine will be sparse and showers are likely in the southwest. Friday is also expected to remain cloudy across the UK with outbreaks of heavy rain.

By the weekend, temperatures will have cooled to an average of 20-21C – more common for the time of year.

Despite the possible dampening of spirits following the latest weather warnings, leading bookmaker Coral has reduced the odds in favour of this summer being the hottest in recorded history due to the weight of support from punters.

In 1976, a heatwave led to the hottest average temperature in the UK since records began. The highest temperature ever recorded was in Faversham, Kent, in August 2003, when the mercury reached 38.5C.