Weather warnings for heavy rain in parts of UK to put end to sunny spell

London: Weather warnings for rain have been issued across the UK on what is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far.

Temperatures could reach as high as 27C on Sunday but the recent warm and sunny spell could disappear by the end of the day.

The Met Office has issued fresh warnings for rain in south-west England. Three yellow warnings for thunderstorms remain in place.

Spells of heavy rain area also expected to hit eastern areas of Northern Ireland on Monday, with a warning in place from noon until 6am on Tuesday.

In areas of south-west England including Cornwall and Exeter, heavy rain is likely to bring some transport disruption and possible flooding in places between 8am and midnight on Monday.

The same warning is in place for southern Wales on Monday, where heavy rain is forecast for areas including Swansea and Cardiff between 8am and midnight.

The Met Office advised those living in areas affected by rain warnings to prepare for disruption to public transport and the possibility of some interruption to power supplies.

Thunderstorms could strike the west of the UK on Sunday, including the majority of Wales, with a warning in place between 1pm and 11pm.

Another storm warning has been issued for the western half of Northern Ireland between noon and 7pm, and another is in place for western parts of Scotland between 2pm on Sunday and 3am on Monday.

All four home nations recorded their hottest days of the year so far on Saturday. Herstmonceux in East Sussex had the highest temperature at 25.9C, slightly ahead of Cassley in northern Scotland where a temperature of 25.7C was recorded. Gogerddan in Wales reached 25.1C on Sunday, while temperatures in Northern Ireland peaked at 23.8C in Magilligan.

Simon Partridge, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said forecasters expected it to be even warmer on Sunday.

He said: “The difference [on Sunday] is that it is not likely to be as warm for Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland. The really warm air will probably be confined to southern and eastern parts of England, with temperatures expected to peak in central parts of the country at around 27C.”