Netweather said cooler and fresher weather spread across the UK on Sunday after the second heatwave followed three days of extreme heat warnings. The change came after the UK recorded its hottest June day on record on Friday, with 37.3C at Santon Downham in Suffolk.
Western Scotland is set to be the wettest part of the week ahead, while SE England, the Midlands and East Anglia could stay mostly dry. A strong westerly jet stream will run across the UK through the week, steering low pressure across the north and keeping rain focused there.
UK weekend weather shift
A weak cold front was clearing eastern England at lunchtime on Sunday, with temperatures expected to reach 25-27C there and 19-23C further west. That left the country cooler than Friday’s peak, but still warm enough in the east for a short-lived hold on the heat before the fresher air spread farther in.
Monday is expected to be mostly dry with sunny spells. Outbreaks of rain should move east Monday night ahead of low pressure approaching NW Ireland, then Tuesday should bring sunshine and showers as low pressure crosses the north.
Scotland and N Ireland rain
Rain is expected mostly across the north during the week ahead, with low pressure moving east across northern UK on Tuesday and another area of low pressure following on Wednesday night. Wind and rain are expected to spread into Scotland and N Ireland late Wednesday afternoon into the evening, and rain may reach northern England and Wales on Wednesday night.
A fairly deep low is expected to cross Scotland Wednesday night or Thursday morning, then clear into the North Sea. Another fairly deep low may pass over or to the north of Scotland on Friday, with gales around coasts and over hills.
London and early July
The same forecast also leaves open a quicker return to warmer weather in the south. Netweather said the week commencing Monday 6th July could see heat return to the south, and the 00z ECMWF ensembles for London suggest temperatures could rise back towards or into the low 30s Celsius that week, with some members creeping into the mid-35s Celsius.
For readers in the south, that means the cooler spell may be brief rather than settled. For those in the north, the main change this week is simpler: more cloud, more rain, and a stronger signal for unsettled conditions through midweek.
