Heatwave causes commuter chaos leaving Waterloo train tracks warped

Updated
Heatwave causes commuter chaos as Waterloo rails warp
Heatwave causes commuter chaos as Waterloo rails warp

As Britain basks in temperatures hovering in the late 20s and early 30s, not everybody was enjoying the heat on Monday.

While some were enjoying barbecues and sunbathing in the park, thousands of commuters faced delays at Waterloo train station as the heat warped the tracks.

According to the Daily Mail, National Rail claimed track-level temps reached 50C, leaving the rail steel warped and affecting services.

Four platforms had to be closed at peak evening travel times for services run by South West trains.

Heatwave causes commuter chaos as Waterloo rails warp
Heatwave causes commuter chaos as Waterloo rails warp

Manwhile, the heat has also left many of Britain's parks looking more akin to Spain, creating scorched, parched grass, as seen at Hyde Park in London (pictured).

Saturday saw the hottest day of the year so far with 31.9C (89.4F) recorded in Southampton, making it the hottest July day since 2006.

And the heat is set to stay until the end of July. Leon Brown, meteorologist at The Weather Channel, told Aol Travel: "The very warm and essentially dry weather (a few isolated afternoon showers in the next few days) looks set to continue until the end of July with high pressure remaining in place across north west Europe and north east Atlantic.

"This summer the circulation is very different to the past 6 years with the jet stream much further north, in complete contrast to the last few years, and also against expectations. This year is proving different so we will have to go back and examine other global drivers and see how they are interacting and influencing the circulation change.

Heatwave causes commuter chaos as Waterloo rails warp
Heatwave causes commuter chaos as Waterloo rails warp

"For the rest of this week the area of high pressure over the UK will gradually build northwards. This is good news for northern Scotland where the weather will become hot and sunny to end the week, and for the weekend, reaching 27 to 28C.

"Over the rest of the UK temperatures in the mid to high 20s every day with hottest values around 30 to 31C."

Some commuters may be relieved to hear that the hot weather is expected to dip a little come August, however. Leon told Aol Travel: "The extended forecast suggests that the area of high pressure will begin to decline for early August with slightly cooler temperatures, but still above normal in the south."

Make the most of the heatwave at one of the UK's top beaches:

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