Thunderstorms will surge across much of Britain today and tomorrow as the Met Office issued yellow weather warnings ahead of a heatwave next week.
Downpours could cause flooding this afternoon in a huge weather front across the west of the country stretching from Cornwall to Glasgow and parts of Northern Ireland.
The tempest will move eastwards tomorrow to include Oxford, Cambridge and Lincoln and could cause havoc for homeowners and businesses.
Storms will gradually subside by Thursday but the south coast will be hit by slow-moving heavy showers which may lead to further flooding.
It comes ahead of a heatwave next week which will see temperatures rocket to 82F (28C) by Wednesday and stay high into the weekend.
Downpours could cause flooding this afternoon in a huge weather front across the west of the country stretching from Cornwall to Glasgow and parts of Northern Ireland. But in the south east (pictured, Clapham Common in London) the weather was clear
The tempest will move eastwards tomorrow to include Oxford, Cambridge and Lincoln and could cause havoc for homeowners and businesses. Pictured: A woman running along the Thames near Tower Bridge in London
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: ‘We are not going to be affected by showers everywhere on Tuesday, there is going to be sunshine across Aberdeenshire and north east Scotland.
‘And for southern counties of England there will be fewer showers here. But more widely across England and Wales there will be showers forming on Tuesday as well as Northern Ireland and western Scotland.
‘They will be hit and miss but when they do occur they will be slow moving so that means they could dump and awful lot of rain in a short spell of time and could see some thunderstorms and hail and lightning again.
‘Where we get the sunshine temperatures will reach 26C in the south east, 24C in the west of Scotland and 23C across western parts of Northern Ireland.
‘Elsewhere on Wednesday there will be sunny spells but with the threat of these slow moving, fairly randomly distributed heavy showers and potential thunderstorms.’
Sunrise this morning lights up the fog above Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, following the thunderstorms which hit Britain on Monday
Thunderstorms will surge across most of Britain today (left) and tomorrow (right) as the Met Office issued yellow weather warnings ahead of baking heat next week
There is also a yellow weather warning for rain and flooding for the south coast on Thursday as other parts of the country clear up
A hiker stands on a mountainside above the fog in Ullswater at the Lake District in a stunning start to the day on Tuesday morning
Fierce thunder and torrential rain yesterday caused an Asda supermarket to be evacuated as a ceiling cam crashing to the floor in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
Roof tiles caved in at the store in the town centre and shoppers fled to safety. Dale Shore, who recorded the shocking scenes, told the MeN he had ‘never seen anything like it’.
The 35-year-old was shopping with his partner and her three-year-old son when water began gushing through the roof.
He said: ‘It was like something out of a film. It was crazy. We were on one of the aisles and I heard this water. It was coming through the roof, then the next thing we knew everything was falling in.
‘There were tiles falling down everywhere. It was mental. The security guard told us to follow him, but then a bit of the ceiling fell down and nearly hit him on the head. It just missed him.
Fierce thunder and torrential rain yesterday caused an Asda supermarket to be evacuated as a ceiling cam crashing to the floor in Rochdale, Greater Manchester (left and right)
‘The tiles were falling down everywhere so the security guard put us in a back room, but then the water was seeping under the door and the boy started panicking so we just made a dash for it. We literally ran out of the store. I’ve never seen anything like it. I couldn’t believe my eyes.’
An Asda spokesman said no injuries had been reported, adding ‘The store is closed while we make it safe for customers to return.’
Almost a month’s worth of rain fell in Rochdale in just a few hours on Monday afternoon, leaving parts of the town flooded.
In Milnrow cars were pictured underwater as Kiln Lane flooded and slip roads to the M62 were also closed due to flooding.
Meanwhile in the picturesque town of Ironbridge in Shropshire, flash flooding ripped through the streets and mixed with sewer water to swamp local businesses.
Meanwhile in the picturesque town of Ironbridge in Shropshire, flash flooding ripped through the streets and mixed with sewer water to swamp local businesses
Telford and Wrekin Council tweeted: ‘The rain has appeared with a vengeance this afternoon which has caused some surface flooding so if you’re out and about on the roads please take extra care. It is especially bad in Ironbridge so avoid this area if you can’
It came less than four months after the historic area had to be evacuation when swollen River Severn flood barriers looked likely to fail.
Chris Harrison, who owns the Dale End Cafe in Ironbridge, desperately worked with neighbours to try to barricade his business before the stinking water seeped in on Sunday.
But they were too late and shop, which was hit by the February floods, was covered in puddles and smelt of sewer water.
Mr Harrison told the Shropshire Star: ‘Every time we get heavy rain it floods. It wasn’t from the River Severn or the brook this time, it came up through a sewer.
‘What do I do? If I can’t get to speak to the powers that be and sort this out properly, I don’t know how I’m going to be able to carry on with it.
‘We only kept going after the last floods because of our community. I believe we’ve got one of the best communities here.’
Telford and Wrekin Council tweeted: ‘The rain has appeared with a vengeance this afternoon which has caused some surface flooding so if you’re out and about on the roads please take extra care. It is especially bad in Ironbridge so avoid this area if you can.’