Mostly dry conditions are forecast for the week ahead as parts of the UK remain officially in drought, forecasters have said. High pressure is set to bring mostly settled weather, despite some blustery showers in places, the Met Office said.
Drought status changes
While parts of northern England had their drought status downgraded to “recovery” after a week of heavy rain, some areas remain in severe drought. All of north-west England, including Greater Manchester and Cumbria, was moved to recovery status on Wednesday, after England experienced its wettest week for two years, the Environment Agency (EA) said.
However, severe drought remains in place across parts of the South West and Sussex, including areas in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex. Much of Wales also remains in drought after the UK’s hottest summer since records began in 1884.
Forecast details
Tom Morgan, meteorologist at the Met Office, told the Press Association: “High pressure will dominate, which is still unfortunately bad news for southern regions in particular, which are experiencing the severe drought conditions that we’ve seen for several months now.” He added that there may be a few showers at times, particularly in Kent and the very far south-east of England on Monday and Tuesday, but for all other parts of the UK it will be largely dry.
Patchy rain in the south is expected to clear on Sunday evening, despite a few coastal showers in the north and east, the Met Office said. Conditions should remain mostly dry with sunny spells on Monday, despite some showers set to affect northern, eastern and south-eastern areas and to be heaviest in the far South East. Temperatures should remain near average for early November.
Bonfire Night outlook
Later this week, Britons should experience a mix of cloud and sunny spells with a few scattered showers. Most areas are set to stay dry, with chilly starts and near average daytime temperatures. Mr Morgan said the dry conditions mean many could be out on Bonfire Night on Thursday.
A yellow fog warning was in place across parts of England and Wales until Sunday morning, with some dense fog patches bringing visibility down to less than 100 metres in certain areas. It came just days after England was battered with rain, leading to increased river levels in many parts of the country.
Recent storms
Storms Austen and Boelo caused England to have its wettest week since October 2024. Austen triggered an amber warning from the Met Office for strong winds and rain across Cornwall and parts of Devon on October 23, along with a yellow warning for much of central and southern England. Gusts reached nearly 80mph on the Isle of Wight, flights were cancelled and thousands of homes were left without power. Boelo arrived the following day, prompting an amber warning for wind over Scotland, with a yellow warning covering northern England.
The EA said at least 120% of average rainfall is needed over the next six months for the entire country to be out of drought by next spring.
