The spell of hot dry weather broke in dramatic fashion in Hastings as a fierce storm raged late on Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday morning.

And local photographer Brian Bailey managed to capture this brilliant shot of forked lightning lighting up the sky over Hastings. With the lightning came loud thunder claps and torrential rain.

Despite a sunny start to Sunday, the afternoon turned into a wash-out with heavy and persistent rain setting in from 2pm and not clearing until the evening.

The weather is set to improve this week. Cloudy spells are forecast today with sunnier conditions expected as we go into the afternoon. The weather then looks set to build toward a hot and sunny weekend, with temperatures as high as 23 degrees.

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