Met Office daily weather: A showery start but growing brighter later on

It'll be a damp start for most but that should clear as we move through the day

A narrow band of heavy rain accompanied by locally gusty winds will move north and east across much of the UK during Wednesday. This band will gradually fragment into showers, some of which may be heavy and thundery, particularly across eastern areas later in the day. Ahead of the rain, conditions will remain dry, although low cloud will persist over Shetland.

Following the passage of the rain band, showers will develop in western areas, with the far northwest likely to see the heaviest bursts later. Temperatures will remain above average in northeast and eastern Scotland and England, where highs of 22–24°C are expected due to the later arrival of the frontal zone. Elsewhere, temperatures will be closer to seasonal norms.

The band of rain and showers will continue to fragment and slowly clear from the far north and southeast overnight. However, the southeast may still see erratic clearance, with a chance of heavy showers and thunder lingering. Many eastern areas will turn dry with clear spells, while showers persist in the west. The far northwest may experience more organised rain for a time.

It will be a notably cooler night across England and Wales west of the Meridian, with widespread lows of 9–11°C and some spots dipping to 5–7°C. Scotland and Northern Ireland will remain milder overnight due to increased cloud cover.

Outlook for Thursday

Thursday will bring a mix of clear or sunny spells and showers, some of which may be locally heavy with cumulonimbus cloud and thunderstorm activity. More organised rain or showers are likely to affect the far southwest later in the day.

Winds will be light inland during the morning but will strengthen to moderate or fresh levels later, becoming strong along some coastal areas. Temperatures will be near normal or rather cool, marking a noticeable change from the warmth earlier in the week 

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Met Office presenter and meteorologist, Alex Burkill, said: “Through Wednesday, we are going to have this band of heavy and at times thundery rain making its way eastward across most parts. There will be some gusty winds on this as well. So, pretty unsettled, but it's going to move through relatively quickly. As a result, the more unsettled weather shouldn't last anywhere for any particularly long period of time.

“That being said, we could see some relatively high rainfall totals building up. We're talking 15-20 millimetres perhaps. And whilst this is coming in a relatively short period of time, it is going to be some welcome rain for many places. Lots of gardeners, farmers have been calling out for some wet weather for quite a while. As that system pushes its way eastwards, we will see something a bit drier, brighter following in behind, but also a scattering of showers across western parts, too.

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“With this, things are going to be a little bit fresher tomorrow. Temperatures down several degrees across eastern parts compared to Tuesday. And whilst in the west, they're going to be similar, maybe a degree or so down. Obviously, when we get that wetter, windier weather coming through, that is going to make it feel a fair bit cooler. That system does eventually clear away towards the east as we go through the evening, but still some heavy bursts of rain affecting some eastern parts of England and also the northeast of Scotland for a little while yet, but drier, clearer weather following.

“However, that drier, clearer weather doesn't really paint the picture for the rest of the week. It is going to be more unsettled than it has been recently. Quite an autumnal feel to the last week of meteorological summer with spells of rain or some showers for most of us. All of it's coming in from the west. We have quite a mobile pattern and so it's western areas where we're going to get the wettest weather. And do watch out, we could have some strong, gusty, blustery winds at times, particularly on Saturday. That's something that we're keeping an eye out for at the moment.”

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