Six areas are currently in drought conditions, with parts of North Wales and the Upper Severn area officially declaring a drought yesterday
A spell of wet and windy weather is set to drench parts of the UK, with rain seen for the first time in weeks for some areas.
Six areas are currently in drought conditions, with parts of North Wales and the Upper Severn area officially declaring a drought yesterday.
The rain will come as a welcome relief to millions of Brits as ten areas in southern England have been listed as under ‘prolonged dry weather’ by the Environment Agency, one step before full-blown drought.
The Met Office has said a band of rain is set to move south east-east across Britain bringing much-needed relief for parched areas that have seen almost no rain in weeks.
In a statement yesterday the Environment Agency said: “There has been minimal rainfall across England in this latest week, with only 3% of the long term average (LTA) rainfall received for the month.
“Temperatures have been above average in most areas and demand for water remains high. River flows have decreased with 84% classified as below normal or lower. Reservoir storage has also fallen further to 75.3% for England, around 7.4% below the LTA for the time of year.”
Currently heatwave conditions only continue in isolated parts of England and Wales, with both Exeter Airport and Usk having recorded 19 consecutive days above their respective heatwave thresholds, the Met Office said.
Over Saturday and Sunday a band of low pressure is expected to move across the UK bringing rain with it. Cloud and rain will affect parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England and north Wales for part of Saturday, the forecaster said.
More widespread rain and drizzle is set to follow eastwards across the UK during Saturday night and Sunday morning, showers then following in the north later Sunday where they could be locally heavy.
However the rain is expected to bring little respite, Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Dan Suri, said. He explained: “After a prolonged spell of hot, dry and settled weather, some will see a temporary change this weekend as weather fronts move south-east across the UK.
“While some areas, particularly in the north and west, will see rain and showers, many places are likely to receive relatively little rainfall. For much of southern England, dry conditions are expected to remain the dominant feature, with temperatures recovering quickly next week and the potential for very warm or locally hot weather to return.”
The Met Office said Sunday is expected to be the coolest day of the weekend for many areas, with temperatures returning closer to average for the time of year and a little below average in some places.
However dry weather and sunshine is expected to return soon with any parts of England and Wales are likely to return to the mid to high twenties Celsius early next week. The cool period is set to be short-lived, with temperatures potentially returning to 30C again in southern and eastern England by Tuesday.
A return to the hot weather carries with it increased risk of drawing as Brits head to the water to cool off.
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