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The roof of a care home was destroyed by one of 35,000 lightning strikes that hit Britain overnight ahead of what is set to be the warmest day of the year so far.
Dramatic photographs showed debris scattered across the grass outside the care home in Elmer, West Sussex, following the lightning strike in the middle of the night.
While most of the 35,000 strikes recorded overnight by the Met Office were over the English Channel, millions of Britons were woken up by the storms in the early hours.
Elsewhere in West Sussex, fire crews said another lightning strike hit a university building in Chichester which suffered damaged to its roof and power system.
No one was injured and residents were relocated while the damage was assessed and the electrical supply made safe, according to West Sussex Fire and Rescue.
Southern England and Wales bore the brunt of the heavy rain and thunderstorms, with two weather warnings in place throughout the night and into this morning.
There were also delays on some Great Western Railway services this morning after lightning damaged the electricity supply between Westbury and Castle Cary.
But temperatures could reach 24C (75F) in parts of the South East today, following a high of 22.1C (71.8F) yesterday which was the warmest UK temperature yet for 2024.
Commuters were warned of travel chaos this morning, due to spray and sudden flooding, while trains and buses may be delayed or cancelled.
The Met Office said the downpours could flood homes, while there could also be power cuts and damage to buildings from strong winds.
Marco Petagna, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: ‘After a night of storms, the rain will ease in the south of England for a while.
‘We could see the skies brightening up in a few places and it will be another warm day. Parts of the South East could even get to 24C.
‘But as the skies brighten and temperatures increase, this could spark a few more thundery showers in the afternoon, so it is likely to still be a bit unsettled and the forecast will be changeable over the next few days.’
While southern parts of the country experienced heavy rain, areas in the North should stay dry and warm.
Looking ahead to the Bank Holiday weekend, Mr Petagna said the forecast showed a ‘very mixed picture’.
Most areas of the country are likely to experience some rain but temperatures will remain fairly warm, in the mid to late teens.
There are likely to be showers across the country on Monday.
The Met Office said the forecast for Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday was ‘still fairly uncertain, but overall it should be fairly warm with scattered showers’.
It added: ‘There is also a chance of cloudier conditions with rain spreading from the southwest for a time on Sunday.’
As for next week, the ‘chance of rain and showers reduces as high pressure builds to the east of the UK’.
It added: ‘This will bring dry and fine weather for most areas, although there is still a possibility of rain or showers in the west’.
And for the week beginning 13 May, ‘high pressure is likely to remain dominant’.
The Met Office added: ‘Sunnier conditions are expected across the south, while it may be cloudier in the north and east. Temperatures are expected to be slightly above normal for early May.’
Yesterday was the warmest day of the year so far, as temperatures reached a peak of 22.1C (71.8F) in Santon Downham in Suffolk.
Meanwhile, the temperature in Scotland reached 21.9C (71.4F) at Aultbea in the north-west Highlands.
However, while some areas of the UK experienced their warmest temperatures of the year, there were wide variations across the country.
Temperatures were over 10C lower in some coastal areas, such as in Weybourne, a town about 45 miles north of Santon Downham, which recorded a maximum temperature of 13.6C (56.5F).
Meanwhile, temperatures in Inverbervie, a town on the north-east coast of Scotland, peaked at 9.9C (49.8F).
Last month, the maximum temperature recorded was 21.8C (71.2F) in Writtle, Essex, on April 13.
The lowest recorded in April was -6.3C (20.7F) in Shap, Cumbria, on April 26.
Please send your photos or videos of the lightning to: pictures@mailonline.co.uk
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Mark Duell
