© Daily MailInferno: Smoke billows from a block of flats in Bermondsey, south-east London, after lightning struck it
The building in Bermondsey, south-east London, was struck at around 2pm - the same time as a control tower at Gatwick Airport was hit, forcing flights to be suspended.
Meanwhile, a teaching assistant escaped unhurt after he was knocked to the ground by a lightning strike at his primary school today.
And tennis fans at Wimbledon were swamped by heavy rain - as were spectators watching the England vs Sri Lanka cricket match at the Oval.
Lightning also hit railway signals, causing serious delays to train services around the South East. It came after 33c heat yesterday also caused problems on the tracks.
Around a quarter of the average monthly total of rain fell in the region this afternoon as flood alerts remained in place in parts of the Thames valley.
A spokeswoman for the Met Office said 9mm fell in Cavendish, Suffolk, between 3pm and 4pm
In Bermondsey, ambulance and fire crews raced to the tower block after a blaze broke out on the 17th floor. Some 40 residents fled as smoke billowed out of the 21-storey building.
One woman was treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation by ambulance staff but there were no other casualties reported.
London Fire Brigade said it was investigating the cause of blaze, which broke out at Lupin Point on Abbey Street in Bermondsey this afternoon.
Eight fire engines were deployed when the brigade was called just before 2pm and the fire was brought under control by 3.44pm.
Station manager Richard Welch said: 'Our crews did really well to quickly gain entry into the flat where the fire started and stop the fire from spreading further than it did.'
A London Ambulance spokesman said: 'We can confirm that we were called at 2.02pm today to reports of a fire on Abbey Street, SE1.
'We sent a duty manager, an ambulance crew and two hazardous area response team units.
'At present our staff are treating a woman on the scene for minor smoke inhalation.'
Tom Langham, who works at Hackbridge Primary School in Sutton, south London, was hit by a bolt at around 1.45pm.
The 25-year-old was not injured, but was taken by a London Ambulance Service crew to St Helier Hospital in Sutton for a check-up.
Jacquie Fairhurst, head teacher at Hackbridge Primary School, said: 'The bolt knocked him to the ground but he didn't lose consciousness and was able to make his way back inside.
'Afterwards he said he was fine but felt like he had been in a round with Mike Tyson.'
Lightning also knocked out computers and a burglar alarm at the school.
Mr Langham is expected to be home by tonight and back at work on Thursday.
After an air traffic control tower was struck by lightning at Gatwick West Sussex, departing flights were suspended for half an hour.
The incident, at around 2pm, led to the temporary failure of some ground-based systems, although no one was hurt and there was no structural damage.
An airport spokeswoman said: 'Planes are able to leave but on a restricted basis. We are advising passengers that there may be some delays.'
And as high temperatures gave way to storms this afternoon, train services were hit by lightning strikes affecting signals.
The weather phenomenon meant delays of up to 90 minutes on services in the Welwyn Garden City and Hertford North areas of Hertfordshire.
Passengers affected were on trains run by the East Coast, First Capital Connect, First Hull Trains and Grand Central companies.
There were also delays of up to 90 minutes on services to the west of London after a lightning strike affected signalling in Southall.
Passengers travelling on Heathrow Express trains to the airport were among those whose journeys were disrupted.
Another lightning strike was at signalling at Petersfield in Hampshire.
This led to 45-minute delays to South West Trains' services between Guildford in Surrey and Portsmouth Harbour.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter