27C London ... for one day only

Hundreds of thousands of Londoners flocked to the capital's parks and lakes to enjoy the hottest weekend of the year.

The temperature reached 27C yesterday following highs of 26C on Saturday - way above the May average of 18C.

But the Met Office is warning that the hot weather is unlikely to continue, with North Sea winds bringing cooler and more overcast conditions with thundery storms.

The forecaster said: "The temperatures really rose a few days ago when the hot wind from the south-east brought fairly warm air from the Continent. The air remained stagnant over the UK and with the long sunny days, it just gradually got warmer and warmer. But it looks like it will cool down, with temperatures into the low twenties because the breeze will be stronger, coming from an easterly direction. On the east coast, the temperatures are likely to be lower than the higher temperatures in the west."

Temperatures were expected to reach 24C in west London today but only as high as 21C in east London because of the easterly breeze. Temperatures will remain between 21 to 22C across the capital tomorrow and Wednesday and there will be overcast skies. Thursday could see the onset of thundery showers as temperatures fall to 20C, reaching only 18C on Friday.

The Met Office said: "It will gradually feel a lot cooler, although the temperatures will still be around the seasonal average. It is too soon to give a clear outlook for next weekend, but it appears the winds will move northwards and we could see a return to warmer and drier conditions by Saturday."