The UK saw its sunniest month on record in May, but June has got off to a wetter start with forecasters warning that heavy rain and thunderstorms could continue into the weekend.
The country will continue to see “unsettled” weather over the next few days, with warnings of downpours across London, northern and eastern areas tomorrow, before "patchy rainfall" on Saturday and Sunday.
The wet weather is due to a low pressure system overhead, which made its way across the Atlantic and over Iceland before landing over the UK, bringing rain, humidity and low temperatures.
Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge told the Standard: “June has started in a very unsettled way weather-wise, and we’ve got a continuation of that.
“We’ve got warnings for rain across parts of northern and eastern England until tomorrow. Basically, what we have got is a low pressure area that is centred to the south of the UK, and that is bringing a flow of conditions coming in across the North Sea.
"It's bringing in moisture, lots of cloud, and creating quite a humid environment which is creating patchy rainfall - some of which could be quite intense, with thundery activity mixed in with it."
He added: “These conditions will be lasting over the next few days, certainly up to and including the weekend. Tomorrow we will see potential for quite heavy rain in London.”
But the expert meteorologist did offer some hope for Britons planning to meet up in a socially-distanced manner outside this weekend.
Mr Madge added: “It does not mean that everywhere will see continuous rain by any means. There will be patches of clearer spells and, where we get those, we should see some nice conditions.
“But what it does mean is that when we do see patches of rainfall, it could be quite heavy and accompanied by thunder and lightning.
“So if you need to do stuff outside at the weekend, there will be good conditions at points during the day, but do be mindful that you could see a shower and that could be quite intense… So be prepared.”
The nation enjoyed the sunniest spring since records began in 1929, with sun-worshippers seeing temperatures peak at 29C.
The Met Office has explained that the stunning month of sunshine was “all to do with the jet stream” as it was “just buckled in exactly the right way in May”.
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