Lightning BOLT almost hits plane during take-off as storms smash Britain for a second night after day of flash-floods and stifling humidity... before sweltering 82F heat tomorrow
A lightning bolt came perilously close to hitting a plane on Sunday as Britain was hit by a second successive night of powerful thunderstorms and torrential downpour.
Hundreds of bolts of lightning lit up skies across the UK as the volatile weather forced Britons to baton down the hatches and seek shelter, despite stifling humidity and 80F temperatures continuing to creep up.
Despite the ominous yellow weather warnings, the UK could be set for the hottest day of year today - with the sun reemerging in time for Bank Holiday barbecues, all day drinking and al fresco dining.
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Hundreds of bolts of lightning lit up skies across the UK as the volatile weather forced Britons to baton down the hatches and seek shelter, despite stifling humidity and 80F temperatures
A lightning bolt came perilously close to hitting a plane on Sunday as Britain was hit by a second successive night of powerful thunderstorms and torrential downpour
Lightning was pictured over the Conwy mountains in Wales as Britain saw a second night of thunderstorms and lightning
The Met Office said a site at Winterbourne, in Edgbaston, recorded 58mm of rainfall in just one hour on Sunday afternoon, and 81mm in a 12-hour period
The heavy downpours could continue for some on Monday, with a yellow weather warning for rain in place as thunderstorms roll south through Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire overnight
The Met Office said a site at Winterbourne, in Edgbaston, recorded 58mm of rainfall in just one hour on Sunday afternoon, and 81mm in a 12-hour period.
The monthly average for the West Midlands region in May is 55mm, meteorologist Craig Snell said.
But he said the torrential rain had been 'very localised', pointing out that another site 10 miles away at Coleshill recorded just 3mm of rain in 12 hours.
The heavy downpours could continue for some on Monday, with a yellow weather warning for rain in place as thunderstorms roll south through Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire overnig
Residents on Sir Johns Road in Selly Oak, Birmingham had to be rescued by firefighters using boats as one red Ford Focus was pictured close to being engulfed by the rising waters
Mr Snell said: 'We won't see the scenes we saw last night.
'There could be a few very short-lived thunderstorms but overall it will be a much quieter night.'
Southern England was struck by lightning between 15,000 and 20,000 times on Saturday night into Sunday morning.
The Environment Agency has more than 20 flood warnings and more than 40 flood alerts in place covering much of Central England.
A yellow weather warning for rain is also in place from the afternoon for large swathes of East Anglia, the South East including London, the South West and Wales.
But Mr Snell said temperatures could hit highs of 28C or 29C in the South East, potentially surpassing the 2018 record of 29.1C on April 19 in St James' Park, central London.
He said: 'It all depends how much cloud develops. There's a chance we could see the warmest day of the year.
'It will be quite widely into the 20s across many parts of the UK. For a bank holiday Monday, it's not looking too bad.
'Further thundery downpours might appear in the late afternoon - not everyone will see them but if you do see one they could be quite nasty. The areas worst hit on Sunday might escape.'
Scotland would see the most prolonged sunshine, he said, but most areas would start dry and cloud cover quickly burn off.
On Sunday, residents in Birmingham were caught in flash floods as torrential rain poured down across the Midlands.
Britons have been sweltering in 80F heat today with clear skies and stifling humidity replacing last night's lightning strikes
Over the weekend, crowds descended on Weymouth beach in the South East as families raced to secure prime sun bathing real estate amid soaring temperatures and clear blue skies.
More than 62,000 lightning bolts blitzed Britain in the 'lightning show of a lifetime'. Lightning hit the south east before midnight with thunderstorms then striking Wales and the rest of England in the early hours of yesterday morning.
One house in Stanway, Essex, had its roof completely destroyed when it was struck by lightning and erupted in flames.
While passengers were left stranded on planes for hours at Stansted airport after flights were cancelled and grounded following a lightning strike hitting a fuel tank.
Scotland and Northern Ireland escaped the worst of the bad weather.
Residents in Birmingham were caught in flash floods as torrential rain poured down across the Midlands but the wet weather failed to put a dampener on the spirits of some Pride festival goers
People feed goslings from pedalos on the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London
One house (pictured) in Stanway, Essex, had its roof completely destroyed when it was struck by lightning and erupted in flames
On arrival fire crews discovered that the 'entire roof of the detached building was alight' and had to spend three hours at the property
The roof has been destroyed while most of the house itself has also been affected by fire damage. No-one was in the property at the time of the lightning strike and it is believed the home owners are on holiday
Lightning dramatically hit The Shard in London in the early hours of this morning as the Bank Holiday weather took a turn for the worse with heavy rain
At least 17million journeys are expected to be taken over the long weekend but plans to enjoy outdoor barbecues could be hit by more potential thunderstorms. Pictured: Lightning strikes on Kent Coast
A fantastic display of lightning has taken place above the skies of Birmingham in the West Midlands whilst heavy rains soaked the area
Amazing images show the true power of storm clouds that passed over Birmingham. The lightning lasted for hours over Saturday night into Sunday morning whilst rain lashed down soaking anyone who could not get to cover
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service sent three vehicles to attend the fire in Stanway last night at 1:38am after lightning hit the roof of a property.
On arrival fire crews discovered that the 'entire roof of the detached building was alight' and had to spend three hours at the home.
No-one was in the property at the time of the lightning strike and it is believed the home owners are on holiday. The roof has been destroyed while most of the house itself has also been affected by fire damage.
The 62,598 lightning bolts that hit Britain in a 24-hour period recorded until 9am Sunday is 20 times more than an average lightning storm's 3,000 strikes, Met Office data shows.
Weather experts said it the best lightning storm of their lifetime. BBC weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker tweeted: 'Mother of all #thunderstorms now over London. Oh boy! This is utterly insane.'
He added: 'That was one adrenaline-gagging-meteorologically-sickening-bonkers-conkers-electrifying sky show. I've never seen a storm with such frequent lightning in my life.'
The London Fire Brigade said it had taken more than 500 weather-related calls as the warm and humid bank holiday weather broke down into an 'utterly intense' storm.
In Warwickshire, the fire service said five properties were struck by lightning in the early hours of Sunday, while in Dawlish, Devon, a telephone box burst into flames after a BT pole was hit on Saturday evening.
A cluster of 17 flood alerts has been issued for parts of the Thames Valley, while West Midlands and Bedfordshire fire services warned motorists of the risks of driving on flood-hit roads.
Western Power Distribution said nearly 1,000 properties had been left without power across the Midlands, with the majority of outages down to lightning.
The 62,000 strikes contained 15million kWh of energy - enough to boil water for 600million cups of tea, lightning and energy data showed.
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