'Fresher' conditions for much of UK after hottest day of year so far

Much of the UK had cooler temperatures on Sunday with "fresher" conditions - apart from the South East - after thunderstorms swept through parts of the country overnight.

A yellow thunderstorm warning issued by the Met Office lasted until 3am for areas including northern England and southeast Scotland. Some parts had up to 25mm of rainfall in one hour, the weather agency said.

Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland saw 31.1mm overnight and was among the locations that saw the wettest conditions. See the weather forecast in your area It comes after the UK had the hottest day of the year so far, with 33.2C (91.7F) recorded in Charlwood, Surrey, on Saturday.

Scores of rail passengers were evacuated after some services were halted following a fault on a train. Some parts of the country have experienced a heatwave over the past few days but temperatures are now closer to average for the time of year.

However, Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said temperatures could hit 27C or 28C in the South East on England on Sunday. He added: "Elsewhere, there's a fresher feel, quite breezy as well, so most places, high teens, low 20s for temperatures, and it stays quite showery tonight.

"Even the South East could get a few showers coming in from the west, so a mixture really of clear spells and showers tonight. "It could turn a bit chilly in Scotland, down to 3 or 4 degrees in some rural spots, but for most places, temperatures, certainly towns and cities, generally holding up in double figures, but a fresher feel compared to what we've had recent nights." What's the forecast for Monday? The South East will see the most sunshine and highs of up to 25C on Monday, Mr Petagna said.

In the other regions, temperatures will be around the high teens and low 20s, which is "near-average" for the time of year, he added. Conditions look "changeable" into next week, with "most areas" having rain at times, the forecaster said.

"It does become very warm again in the South East around the middle of the week, so we could see high 20s again around Tuesday, Wednesday in the South East. "But at the same time as that heat builds again briefly in the south and South East, we could see further thundery downpours for a time as well," he said.

What is a heatwave? An official heatwave is recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three consecutive days, with thresholds varying from 25C to 28C in different parts of the UK..