The Met Office weather map points to an unsettled start to September, with rainfall likely to run above average across the period. Short-lived warm spells are still possible in southern areas, but the forecast says they are unlikely to settle in for long.
That comes after thunderstorm warnings were issued across parts of the UK for Wednesday and Thursday, with yellow alerts covering the West and East Midlands, the North West, the South East, the South West and east of England, plus parts of Wales. The Met Office said there is a small risk of flooding and disruption.
Wednesday and Thursday warnings
The warning for Wednesday runs from 3am until 10pm. On Thursday, it is in place from 6am until 10pm. People in the West Midlands, East Midlands, North West, South East and South West are among those covered, along with areas in England and Wales.
The storm alerts arrive after back-to-back heatwaves left the ground hard and dry, with 70 per cent of England and Wales in drought. Earlier this month, temperatures reached 37.6C at Charlwood in Surrey and 37.2C at Wisley, before Kew Gardens in London recorded 38.1C, the highest temperature in the UK this year.
England summer temperature
Provisional Met Office data puts the UK’s mean temperature for meteorological summer so far at 16.48C, or 1.88C above the 1991 to 2020 average. England’s mean summer temperature so far is 18.19C, which is 2.46C above average.
For England to end the summer level with its current warmest on record, the remainder of August would need to average 1.41C below the summer mean. That leaves room for a cooler finish, but the September outlook still leans wetter and less settled than the recent hot spell.
Later in September
The Met Office says drier and more settled interludes could develop at times, especially later in September in the south and southeast. It also says more unsettled conditions are likely further north and northwest later in the month, while temperatures may start near average before turning warmer at times.
The practical reading for readers is simple: the first stretch of September is not shaping up as a repeat of the recent hot run, and any warm spell in the south looks temporary rather than sustained.
