It was only 12 months ago that Britain's roads were beginning to melt in a summer heatwave, but this year has seen 'flaming June' so far extinguished by flash floods, burst river banks and even a tornado.
Now there are more wild weather swings in the air as conditions get a lot hotter – and a lot wetter – from next week. This weekend we can expect mostly fine weather for England and Wales, so it may be time to plan a picnic.
But from late Sunday onwards, 'severe' thunderstorms are set to batter parts of the UK with a risk of localised flooding, the Met Office said as it issued severe weather warnings for England, Wales and Scotland.
Thunderstorm warnings are in place in parts of the UK from 12pm on Sunday until the end of Tuesday, with up to 4in (100mm) of rain expected to fall in eastern Scotland, and up to 2in (50mm) possible in England and Wales.
Warm air over France, Germany and the Netherlands which has drifted north from Algeria will be drawn further to Britain and push up temperatures in South East England in what has been dubbed a 'Saharan bubble'.
Warm air over France, Germany and the Netherlands which has drifted north from Algeria will be drawn further to Britain and push up temperatures in South East England in what has been dubbed a 'Saharan bubble'
Sunrise on the summer solstice at Mogshade Pond in the New Forest in Hampshire this morning
A woman cycles through Cambridge this morning while another reads her book in the morning sunshine today
A punt chauffeur gets ready for what could be a good day with lots of sun in Cambridge this morning
The sun rises over London this morning during the summer solstice, the longest day of the year
Sunrise over a poppy field in Worcestershire on the morning of the summer solstice
Early morning sunrise at Dungeness in Kent on the longest day of the year
Over on the continent, meteorologists say temperature records could even be broken, with a 50 per cent chance of 104F (40C) in Germany next week, challenging the record high of 104.5F (40.3C) set in Kitzingen in 2015.
As for Britain, after Sunday and Monday's storms pass, things will carry on heating up. By the middle of next week we could be in for some traditional 'flaming June' weather, with temperatures even hitting the 80Fs (high 20Cs).
