Weather and climate change

Headline:

Heavy showers over parts of southern England this afternoon.

Today:

Sunny spells for most areas, though parts of northern Scotland and England starting off rather cloudy. Scattered showers will break out over parts of England and Wales this afternoon, especially over southern England where some heavy showers likely.

Tonight:

Daytime showers soon easing this evening and then a generally dry night with clear spells will follow. Cooler than of late for most overnight.

Monday:

Sunny spells and feeling quite pleasant. Dry for many, but scattered afternoon showers will affect parts of England and Wales, especially southern England where some showers may be heavy.

Outlook for Tuesday to Thursday:

Scattered showers for England and Northern Ireland on Tuesday, otherwise many areas dry. Showers becoming heavier Wednesday with a risk of thunder. Windy with more persistent rain Thursday. Temperatures recovering.

Updated: 05:00 (UTC+1) on Sun 1 Aug 2021

The unsettled, changeable conditions continue to dominate the picture for the first half of August. A mixture of sunny spells and showers, with some drier interludes, is the general pattern expected at the start of August for all. Some of these showery spells may merge to give slightly longer spells of rain. At first, scattered showers for most, with some thunderstorms likely to develop from these. Torrential downpours are likely in some places. Winds generally remaining breezy, with temperatures expected to be near to average, perhaps slightly above average in northern areas. Towards the middle of the month, it will likely turn more settled, though a few showers cannot be ruled out, especially in southeastern areas. Becoming drier than recently, with sunny spells for most temperatures trending above average.

Updated: 15:00 (UTC+1) on Sat 31 Jul 2021

Whilst there are current signals of a drier and warmer than average period from the middle of August, occasional spells of more unsettled weather, primarily in the northwest, remains possible. Accompanying this is a low risk of short-lived thundery spells, these mainly in southeastern parts. Confidence through this period remains low at present. However, most should see dry and fine weather. Above average temperatures continue to be indicated through the remainder of August, with possibly even very warm conditions at times in southern areas.

Updated: 16:00 (UTC+1) on Sat 31 Jul 2021