Weekend heat over as Britain braces itself for storms

Torrential rain will hit large parts of southern England this morning, forecasters warned.

They expect the storms to last all week.

The rain follows a weekend of warmth more usually associated with Mediterranean resorts.

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Southampton basked in 76f (24c) yesterday - 11f or 6c above the average temperature for this time of year and hotter than the Algarve in Portugal and southern Italy.

Thousands of families headed to parks in the countryside and the coast to enjoy the sunshine.

Revellers packed Bournemouth beach, hiring all 5,000 of the resort's deckchairs and sun-loungers by midday.

Ice cream salesmen, hoteliers and seafront shops also did a roaring trade for the time of year.

Sam Wilson, 23, from Southampton, who spent the day in Bournemouth with friends, said: "It feels like summer. I don't normally start on my tan until June so I'm way ahead on that front."

However, Andrew Sibley, a forecaster with the Met Office, warned the hot and humid conditions would lead to thunderstorms.

"It's been way above the average temperature for this time of year and we are really seeing summer temperatures," he said.

"But this will now cause thunderstorms across southern parts which will continue until at least Friday."

Residents and firemen clearing up after the earthquake in Kent have already been hampered by the rapidly changing conditions.

Fortunately, however, it's not all doom and gloom - sunny skies are still expected in many parts of the country throughout the week.

When it is not raining in the South, highs of at least 68f (20c) are expected every day until the weekend.

Warm weather is also expected across much of Scotland and the North, which should see highs of 66f (19c) every day this week.

The East coast, however, will be cooler as clouds blowing in from the North Sea mean the temperature is unlikely to be higher than 59f (15c) over the next three days, with heavy rain also likely.

The Met Office has said this April was the hottest on record.

The average temperature of 52f (11c) beat the previous record of 51f (10.6c), recorded in 1865.

Forecasters have already announced that the 12 months from May 2006 to April 2007 were the warmest ever, with average daily highs of 53f (12c).

The sunshine was a stark contrast to the weather in April last year.

Then the country was blasted with icy winds and snow fell heavily, forcing shoppers in Tunbridge Wells in Kent to negotiate thick slabs of ice on the streets.

In Manchester the conditions were so treacherous that the start of Lancashire's first cricket match of the year at Old Trafford had to be delayed so ground staff could remove a heavy layer of ice from the pitch.

Despite the thunderstorms ahead, the chances of wintry conditions returning in the coming months are slim.

This summer is expected to be among the warmest on record, with forecasters saying it has a one in eight chance of being the hottest of all.