London is set for one more day of glorious sunshine, with whopping 30C temperatures meaning Wednesday could be the hottest day of the year.
But Londoners are encouraged to enjoy the scorching weather while it lasts before the capital and the rest of the south east is hit by thunderstorms as early as tonight.
A warm front stretching south-east from East Anglia to Kent means areas inside this zone are likely to see warm even “sticky” weather, a Met Office forecaster has said.
The mercury is forecast to reach a peak of 30C (86F) in London at around 4pm, but will be scorching throughout.
Monday marked the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures soaring to 29.7C (85.46F) in Teddington, Middlesex.
Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said there is a “reasonable chance” Wednesday’s warmest temperature could beat the record set on Monday.
He said: “It’s going to be pretty close and there’s a reasonable chance that we will just pip it.
“There’s a good chance that we could see 30C temperatures just north of London and a small chance of seeing 31C (87.8F).
“The heat will be very much concentrated in the south-east corner of the UK, with a cold front across more northern areas.
“As well as being very hot it will become increasingly humid, so it’s going to feel really quite sticky and muggy by the early evening.”
But immediately after the possible peak weather of the year, thunderstorms are predicted to sweep through London and much of the south of England.
A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms is in place from 6pm on Wednesday lasting throughout Thursday until midnight, and the Met Office say there is potential for travel disruption and flooding in “three potential rounds of thunderstorms.”
The Met Office has also issued yellow warnings for storms which could cause flooding and power cuts in south-east England for another 24 hours from 9am on Friday.
Hour by hour forecast for June 16
8am: 17C
9am: 19C
10am: 21C
11am: 23C
12am: 24C
1pm: 26C
2pm: 27C
3pm: 28C
4pm: 29C
5pm: 29C
6pm: 28C
7pm: 28C
8pm: 27C
9pm: 26C