A map revealing the places where thunder and heavy rain will hit Britain

• The Met Office issues a thunderstorm alert for the south-east with a flood warning
• In some rural areas of England, temperatures will drop into the single digits

Parts of England and Wales face miserable weather on Tuesday as the September heatwave ends in Britain – with a map of the country in yellow as meteorologists issue weather alerts.

London and the south-east have received a yellow thunderstorm warning, with the Met Office warning of the risk of “flooding and disturbance” from 12pm to 8pm on Tuesday.

A yellow weather alert for rainfall has also been issued for parts of northern England and the Midlands, where heavy rain could cause flooding and affect travel routes this morning.

Heavy rains are scheduled to hit the country, and temperatures drop to 22 degrees Celsius after a record heat wave that saw 32.5 degrees Celsius recorded in some areas.

In some rural areas of northern England, temperatures will drop into single figures, with frost on the horizon in some rural areas, bringing an end to long-standing wet conditions and an unseasonably warm start to autumn.

“Temperatures on Tuesday across the Southeast will remain in the high teens while temperatures in the North will drop into the single digits,” meteorologist Alex Deakin predicted.

“The contrast is created by a weather front, a line of clouds and an outbreak of rain that slowly flows south, with one or two heavy rain showers.

“It remains warm across the Southeast, and humidity, which could bring heavy rain or perhaps even thunderstorms, remains throughout the afternoon.”

Tomorrow, the weather will remain cold throughout the country with sunny periods, before rain falls in the afternoon.

Periods of rain will continue later in the week before the weather becomes warmer and wetter again in the Southeast on Saturday, increasing the risk of more thunderstorms.

Looking ahead to next week, a mix of sunny spells and scattered rain will continue.

Wet conditions will likely bring heavy rain, thunderstorms and persistent showers.

As October begins, temperatures are likely to remain above average, with warmer than normal periods expected, the forecaster said.

A September heatwave saw thousands of people pulling in sick to make the most of the soaring temperatures.

BrightHR, which monitors absence among more than 800,000 workers, told the Daily Star that the number of Britons who took off work yesterday to enjoy 28C temperatures could rise by a fifth.

A heatwave broke the record for the most consecutive days with temperatures above 30C in September, with Saharan dust creating sunsets and sunrises in clear conditions.

The Met Office said the highest temperature recorded on Sunday in Cambridge was 32.5 degrees Celsius.

Tom Morgan, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said the heatwave was “unprecedented”.

It saw 150,000 visitors flock to Brighton Beach over the weekend, with Blackpool attracting 100,000 visitors.

The hot weather has sparked a new wave of health warnings, raising fears that the NHS is under pressure, as people with heart disease or breathing difficulties are most at risk.

Some events have also been cancelled, including Dogfest, which was due to be held this weekend at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire but was called off after weather conditions were deemed “not in the best interests of dogs”.

Scorching conditions made the UK warmer than Malaga on the Costa del Sol, which was set to reach 28C (82F) over the weekend.