Thunderstorms Signal Cooler Days Ahead

Britain enjoyed another day of glorious sunshine - but thunderstorms in some parts of the UK heralded the start of cooler weather.

People flocked to parks and beaches as the UK basked in temperatures of 27C on Monday.

But there were also torrential thunderstorms running from Kent up towards the Pennines, which continued into the evening.

Tuesday will be cooler overall, and cloudier, with top temperatures plumetting several degrees.

Sky meteorologist Christopher England said: "It will be mainly dry again, and the sun will come out, but there will be more thundery showers, which will become widespread on Wednesday.

"Temperatures will drop to around the seasonal average by the end of the week, and it'll stay more unsettled than recently."

And it does not look as if the weather will pick up for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations this weekend.

Average maximum temperatures for England in May are 14C to 17C, while Scotland would normally be between 13C and 15C.

Last week was the driest since the end of March, according to the Environment Agency.

The highest temperatures on Sunday were recorded in the southeast and the west of England as well as the northwest of Scotland.

By mid-afternoon Wisley in Surrey had the highest temperature at 27.4C. Another hot-spot was Porthmadog in North Wales where the mercury reached 26.9C.

Kinlochewe in the Highlands was the hottest spot in the country on Saturday, at a sizzling 27.9C.

The sunny weather brought thousands of people out to see the Olympic torch relay today as it passed through south and west Wales.