The Met Office has named 32 areas across the UK that are set to face heavy rain on Tuesday, August 4, with Scotland expected to bear the brunt of the downpours.
Weather maps generated on August 2 show that the rain will begin to hit early on Tuesday, with almost the whole of Scotland experiencing wet conditions. Every county in Northern Ireland is also expected to be affected, along with parts of the Midlands and some areas of Wales. The maps also indicate that some other parts of the country continue to face prolonged drought conditions.
Morning downpours ease by evening
The maps indicate that Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern and central England will see rain during the morning. By Tuesday evening, however, the rainy conditions are expected to dissipate for most areas.
The Met Office’s forecast for Tuesday to Thursday reads: “Unsettled at first, with spells of rain and some heavy showers, especially in northern areas. Conditions gradually improve later, becoming drier for many. Hot in the southeast, cooler further north.”
Full list of areas affected
The 32 areas identified by the Met Office are:
- Northern Ireland: County Fermanagh, County Tyrone, County Londonderry, County Antrim, County Down, County Armagh
- Scotland: Highland, Moray, Aberdeen, Angus, Perth and Kinross, Argyll & Bute, Stirling, Fife, Dundee, Glasgow, Inverness, Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire
- England: Northumberland, Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Derby, Leicester, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire
Drought conditions remain
This comes as the forecaster described July as being characterised by an “exceptional combination of extreme heat, abundant sunshine and an almost complete absence of rainfall”.
Provisional statistics showed that only 5.6mm of rainfall was recorded in England in July – less than half the previous record of 13.4mm set in 1911.
Half of England and the whole of Wales is officially in drought, as successive heatwaves continue to put pressure on water resources.
