UK weather latest: Britain braces for ‘hottest ever day’ as Europe gripped by deadly heatwave

Met Office warns floods and lightning could strike on Thursday

The UK is preparing for what could be the hottest day on record after the highest temperature of the year was recorded on Wednesday.

According to the Met Office, there is a 70 per cent chance the temperature could rise above the current all-time record of 38.5C on Thursday, with conditions in southern and eastern England potentially rising above 39C.

The record for 2019 was broken on Wednesday, when 34.3C at Writtle near Chelmsford in Essex - higher than the 34C recorded at Heathrow in June.

Meanwhile, emergency services highlighted the risks of cooling off in the sea, lakes and rivers after officers searching for swimmers who went missing announced they had found two bodies.

A body was recovered on Tuesday evening in the search for a man in his twenties from Wiltshire who had gone missing in the lake at Cotswold Water Park, and on Wednesday morning the body of a 23-year-old man was found by officers searching for a man last seen swimming in the Thames at Shadwell Basin.

Inspector Stuart Simpson, from the Metropolitan Police’s marine unit, said: “Whilst at times, the Thames may look appealing, especially in this hot weather, it remains very dangerous all year round.

“On initial entry, the water can seem warm on the surface, but further in it can be freezing cold and there are often very strong undercurrents.

“The initial shock of the cold water is often what leads to people going subsurface and subsequently drowning.”

As temperatures topped 30C in the southeast on Wednesday, Network Rail warned train speed restrictions may be introduced in areas where tracks are at risk of buckling.

It said extreme weather action teams had been “activated” to keep passengers safe and trains running.

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents the industry, advised passengers in London and the southeast to consider changing their travel plans on Thursday because of the expected heat.

Eurostar passengers were evacuated from a train after it stopped outside Brussels due to problems with the overhead power supply.

People enjoy the sun at Scarborough beach (PA)

Large swathes of the country experienced storms and lightning strikes in the early hours of Wednesday.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service said two engines were sent to a smoke-logged house in Bedworth, near Nuneaton, shortly before 2am after lightning struck an aerial.

Lightning also set a roof annexe ablaze and caused a building to be evacuated at around 1.25am in Bowling Bank near Wrexham, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said.

The Red Cross Crisis Response Centre tweeted that there were three fires caused by lightning during the night.

Lightning damage to a signalling system at Wakefield Westgate station in West Yorkshire led to fewer trains running on Wednesday morning, train operator Northern said.

The storms came after temperatures across England exceeded 30C on Tuesday, with forecasters predicting even hotter temperatures to come.

Lightning strikes as a thunder storm passes over houses in Leeds (PA) (Danny Lawson/PA)

On Wednesday, the Met Office said the temperature hit 33.7C in Cavendish, Suffolk, and reached 33.5C in Writtle, Essex.

At Heathrow the mercury rose to 32.4C, while at St James’s Park in the capital it reached 31.9C.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for scattered thunderstorms covering the east of the country from Scotland down to London from 3pm on Thursday and into early Friday morning.

It warned that flooding and lightning strikes could affect driving conditions, disrupt train services and lead to power cuts.

The average daytime temperature for the UK in July is 19C, which is already being exceeded by evening conditions this month.

Additional reporting by Press Association