A month of rain on ONE day as bank holiday Britain is hit by torrential downpours and thunderstorms (and more rain is forecast)

By HELEN LAWSON

Braving the rain: Three women don extra layers to protect themselves from a sudden downpour in London's Notting Hill

Large parts of Britain were battered by heavy rain and thunderstorms this afternoon as downpours got the Bank Holiday weekend off to a soggy start.
Experts said that any good weather over the weekend was likely to arrive tomorrow, as parts of the UK were hit by torrential thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon.
Forecasters warned that in the worst-hit areas, which are mainly across the south, an inch of rain is expected to fall within hour today, and be followed by up to 60mm rain (2.3 inches) during the rest of the day. That adds up to more than the average rainfall for the whole of August for southern regions, which is usually 62mm (2.4 inches).

Heavens opened: Tourists are caught out in a thunderstorm in London ahead of the Notting Hill Carnival

Drenched: Rain soaked revellers on day two of Reading Festival 2012

Poncho-wearing festival goers doing their best to stay in the party mood


Riding out the storm: A cyclist is caught in a downpour in the capital

The owner of this car is going to regret not closing the roof when they left it near High Street Kensington this afternoon

Driving you mad: A Morris Minor battles through the downpours on a wet start to the Bank Holiday weekend

And as the heavens opened this afternoon, areas north of London, the Midlands, Lincolnshire, Humber and Yorkshire were subjected to rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning.
The pop festivals in Reading and Leeds are among locations at risk of a soaking this weekend.
Paul Mott, a senior forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: 'There are going to be widespread and frequent heavy showers in most areas of England and Wales which will move in from this morning with one or two thunderstorms in the afternoon, particularly in the Midlands.
'Most places will see a good 10-20mm of rain through the day, but up to 30mm could fall locally.'

Take cover: Elsewhere in the capital, the sudden downpour forced these three women to cower under a tree

Pounding the streets: This ice cream stand may have struggled for custom this afternoon thanks to the relentless rain

Storm brewing: Grey clouds gather over London this afternoon ahead of torrential downpours

Washout: Soggy conditions prevailed at the Big Tribute Festival in Lovesgrove this weekend

Braving the elements: These hardy punters were determined to enjoy the sights of Cambridge whatever the weather

Mr Mott said Scotland and Northern Ireland should see the best of the weather, but that most other places would be wet.
After today's heavy rain, Sunday is looking drier, though with a risk of showers in northern and eastern areas, before rain returns from the west early on Monday, spreading to most areas, though the south-east might escape some of the worst of the conditions.
Temperatures are not expected to reach much higher than 20C (68F) over the weekend - a stark contrast with last weekend when the thermometer touched 32C (90F).
The Environment Agency today issued six flood warnings, four in the north-west, one in the Midlands and one in the New Forest.

Caught out: This cyclist clearly didn't expect to be out in a deluge

These queues of holidaymakers appeared to have the right idea at Heathrow's Terminal 5, as they packed into the airport to jet off from Britain

The M62 near Huddersfield was crammed on Friday as drivers hit the road for their weekend getaways

Travel organisation Abta said Spain and its islands were the most popular overseas destinations for Britons this weekend.
City-lovers are said to be picking Paris, Amsterdam and Dublin as their favourite spots for a bank holiday break, while domestic tour operators reported the south and south west coasts of England are set to be popular with those staying closer to home.
The Eurostar is set to carry 60,000 passengers while ferries and Eurotunnel are expected to be busy.

source: dailymail