Met Office issues flood warnings

Britain faces a washout near-total next week when a month's worth of rain could fall in just one day, as heavy showers and flooding continue to blight hopes of an early start to summer.  

The Met Office has issued four severe weather warnings for rain starting at 4am on Monday and not relenting until midday on Thursday. 

Commuters from Brighton through to Dover and up to Norwich and Lincoln should prepare for a miserable commute tomorrow, with risks of train cancellations and hazardous road conditions. 

Showers are also due to fall on London on Monday, which could result in small-scale flooding and building damage as well as travel chaos.

On Tuesday thundery showers will move northwards to cover large swathes of the East Midlands and beyond to Sheffield, Leeds, York and Newcastle, until they die off mid-Thursday.

Areas of higher grounds, including the South Downs, could get 2.5inches (60mm) of rain in just 12 hours with 40mph winds battering the east coast. 

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge told MailOnline: 'From tonight we see an area of heavy rain pushing in from the south east and originally from continental Europe. It will gradually move north and westward over the next few days.

'There will be a switch in temperatures with highs of around 68F (20C) in the south east of England today moving to the north west of Scotland tomorrow.

'Coastal gales of up to 40mph will make it feel cooler, with colder-than-average temperatures for this time of year.

'The best of the sunshine will be in Northern Ireland and Scotland, which means a rather disappointing set up for this time in June for the rest of the country.'