Weather: UK's Wettest Ever April To June

This April to June was the wettest on record as a major clean-up operation takes place in northern Britain following freak storms.

Homes well away from rivers and streams were flooded and cars were submerged after Thursday's heavy rainfall.

Northern England, the Midlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland were worst hit by storms that brought lightning, giant hail stones and reports of damage from squalls and tornadoes.

In stark contrast, southern parts of Britain enjoyed dry weather and temperatures as high as 28C.

Sky's weather presenter Isobel Lang said: "Rainfall figures still have to be confirmed, but this June could end up being the wettest on record beating that of 2007 when there was also widespread and severe flooding.

"It's also been downright dull and much cooler than average - a miserable start to summer that's for sure.

"Worryingly, this is off the back of the wettest April on record and the Environment Agency has said that according to their statistics it has been the wettest April to June ever.

"Will the weather improve during July? Some sunnier spells are likely between the rainy days, but the general theme is still for rather changeable and showery weather for the next couple of weeks.

"The end of the month looks drier and sunnier which at least brings some hope."

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman is visiting the North East of England as homeowners, businesses and the insurance industry count the cost of the clean-up.

Northern Powergrid said 2,450 customers in the North East were without electricity after lightning strikes damaged supply lines. The areas most affected by loss of power were Consett, Stanhope and Alnwick.

The company cancelled all planned engineering work and redeployed staff in a bid to restore power to all homes as soon as possible. Most of the properties have now had their power re-connected.

Hundreds of rail engineers are working to repair damaged tracks which disrupted services between England and Scotland.

Rail services were badly disrupted as rain tore away track beds at Scremerston, Northumberland, and landslides in the Lake District and Scottish Highlands caused more problems.

It led to thousands being stranded as no trains could pass between Newcastle and Edinburgh. The route has since been reopened, but with journey times extended by 90 minutes.

A normal service is expected to run between London and Leeds.

The Environment Agency has eight flood alerts in place - five in the Midlands - but no warnings.