Battling the rain on a reinforced London Bridge, commuters struggle into work

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Chris Baynes6 June 2017

London was lashed by rain and wind today after one of the warmest springs on record.

Commuters battled deluges while Tube passengers faced rush-hour disruption on the Central line after a tree fell onto tracks in strong winds.

The rain was set to ease up on Tuesday afternoon but scattered showers were expected to persist throughout the week.

One plucky commuter threw his hands in the air in joy while walking past the newly installed anti-terror barriers on London Bridge in an apparent gesture of defiance.

Met Office forecaster Emma Boorman said: "You've got a lot of wet weather with you right now, some fairly heavy and persistent rain across the majority of the London area.

Rain lashed commuters on London Bridge on Tuesday morning
Jeremy Selwyn

"Through the course of the day that's gradually going to ease away, so by early- to mid-afternoon you'd be expecting things to turn a bit drier and brighter. But the remainder of this morning is going to be very wet and windy.

"Later on in the afternoon despite the fact it's going to be drier there could be a few scattered showers around.

"It's going to be a blustery day and a relatively cool day as well, the temperatures below where they should be for this time of year; we're looking at highs of 16C or 17C."

Transport for London told commuters travelling between White City and West Ruslip or Ealing Broadway to plan alternative routes on Tuesday morning as a fallen tree blocked the Central line.

Services were suspended from 6.36am until 6.51am, with disruption lasting until 8am.

The weather was set to to brighten on Wednesday but forecasters said people hoping for a return to last month's baking temperatures were likely to be disappointed.

Ms Boorman said: "As we go into Wednesday it's looking a much better day, so you're likely to have some bright sunny spells for the majority of the day and dry conditions across the capital. There's a chance of some further spells of rain arriving but it shouldn't really be until the evening as we get to about 8pm or 9pm when it's starting to get dark.

"The temperatures should be a little bit warmer as well, up to 20C."

But she added: "It looks like it's going to stay fairly unsettled for the rest of this week. We've got further spells of rain coming through on Thursday and you're likely to see some showers on Friday, so there's a little bit of rain to get out of the way yet."

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