UK will be drenched in washout weather but a 24C scorcher is just round the corner

'Above average temperatures are more likely than below, although unsettled conditions are likely to return again.'

The UK will see its second 24°C sizzle of spring next week – but we’ve got to get through a week of thunderstorms and heavy rain first.

Britain is predicted to be cooler than Moscow today – but longer range forecasts suggest by the time next week comes around we’ll be basking in temperatures hotter than Malibu.

Following this weekend’s sunny weather, swiftly followed by thunderstorms, we’re set to have an unsettled week of wet and stormy weather before brightening up again.

After yesterday’s highs of 27°C, powderkeg thunderstorms threatened floods last night from a month’s rain in just two hours.

Two inches of rain, 50mph wind gusts, a lightning blitz and hail were due across the west and north of the UK.

Temperatures are set to plunge by 10°C to 21°C today and 17°C tomorrow, cooler than 19°C Moscow, with rain expected throughout the week.

A Met Office forecaster said: ‘Monday’s rain will spread, with further rain and heavy showers for Tuesday and Wednesday.

‘Drier, more settled conditions will probably become established for a time.

‘Above average temperatures are more likely than below, although unsettled conditions are likely to return again.’

Brian Gaze, forecaster from The Weather Outlook, added: ‘Next week [May 20-27] has the likelihood of it being quite warm in sunny spells.’

The UK has just seen its largest beach rush since last summer, with tens of thousands of people rushing to coastal towns and cities such as Brighton, Bournemouth and Great Yarmouth.

Daytrippers clogged roads, with the M25 shut for roadworks in Surrey and congestion on coastal routes including the A23 to Brighton, A31 to Dorset, A30 to Cornwall and M55 to Blackpool.

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