A dramatic shift in the weather has brought the UK’s sunny summer to a soggy close, as heavy rain and stormy conditions sweep across the country — with more unsettled conditions expected in the days ahead.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain in Wales and the south of England, including London, in effect until noon on Friday.
In the capital, heavy downpours are expected to deliver 8mm to 16mm of rainfall per hour in some areas, raising the risk of localised flooding and power outages.
The adverse conditions may also cause some disruption to public transport and passengers are advised to check for travel updates ahead of time.
Thundery spells are expected to clear this afternoon, giving way to brighter intervals with occasional showers.
However, the unsettled weather will continue into the weekend.
Commuters in London should expected bus and train services to be affected with journey times taking longer, the forecaster warned.
Spray and flooding on roads will probably making journey times longer and flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely.
Temperatures will remain steady at around 21 to 22C heading into next week.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Steve Willington said: “A westerly regime is now in charge of the UK’s weather and will help fuel periods of wet and windy weather over the next few days, with showers and some longer spells of rain likely for much of the UK on Thursday and Friday.
“While many areas may welcome some rain after fairly prolonged dry weather, there’s a potential that over the next few days some parts of Wales, northwest England and western Scotland could see some impacts at times, which we’ll be keeping an eye on.”
Colder weather is expected across the UK throughout September, with low-pressure systems tending to dominate the overall pattern.
“This will mean showers or longer spells of rain will affect the majority of the UK at times. Some heavy rain or showers are expected in places, most often in the west,” according to the Met Office.
On Tuesday, the Met Office said Summer 2025 will “almost certainly” be the UK’s warmest on record.
Met Office scientist Emily Carlisle said: “Provisional Met Office statistics show that summer 2025 will almost certainly be the warmest summer on record … Unless temperatures are around four degrees below average for the rest of August, which the forecast does not suggest, it looks like the current record will be exceeded.”
