Met Office says summer 'warmer and drier than average' despite storm and flood warnings

Summer might feel like a washout but experts say it has actually been warmer and drier than average.

Met Office meteorologists say the heavy rain and flooding have made people forget the long hot periods.

Becky Mitchell, of the Met Office, explained: “We’ve seen a lot of reports on the news about the flooding. That’s why it may feel like a bad summer.”

She said the only exception has been the south east of England, which has already had 111% of its average rainfall for the summer.

Ms Mitchell added: “There was a heatwave during the middle part of July.

People watch waves crash against the promenade in Folkestone, Kent (PA)

"The end of that heatwave triggered a lot of thunderstorms and heavy and intense rain, which is what brought some of those flooding incidents across parts of the south east.”

She said a lot of rain in a short period had created “localised flooding events” but denied it was a “wet period”.

Frequent showers are expected to continue across the country tomorrow.

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud predicted that the weather will start to settle on Tuesday, as a patch of high pressure is blown in from the west.

That should kill off some of the showers but by Thursday there will be more rain for most, with the south east remaining slightly drier.

It's been a washout August so far (Alex Lentati/LNP)

Sign up for our daily newsletter to keep up to date with all the essential information at www.mirror.co.uk/email

Temperatures will recover slightly this week and parts of London might be 24C.

He said there was “no sign of a heatwave” on the horizon.

But there is a chance the weather could heat up towards the end of August.

Ms Mitchell added: “It’s going to stay quite changeable at least for the next week but as we head towards the end of August, there’s a likelihood we will see a hotter spell of weather and drier, more settled weather across the whole of the UK.”

A rainbow can be seen landing on St Paul's Cathedral, situated next to The Shard (Peter Summers / Story Picture Agency)

The dismal summer weather continued over the weekend, with parts of London and Glasgow flooded due to heavy rain.

Videos and photos of heavy flooding on the roads and drains full of water were posted on social media by people in Walthamstow, East London, and Battersea in South London.