Heavy rain is set to fall across 79 counties in the UK on Tuesday, August 25, as thunderstorms move from south to north, according to Met Office forecasts. The downpours follow months of heatwaves that brought drought to much of the country and sparked more than 1,000 wildfires.
Forecast for Sunday to Tuesday
The Met Office forecast for Sunday (August 23) to Tuesday states: "Mostly dry with sunny spells, though cloud and a few showers may affect northern areas. Rain and thundery showers could develop in the south, spreading north later. Temperatures near average."
Late-night rainfall on Monday evening sets the stage for a wet Tuesday. Bands of heavy rain in the south-west begin to spread eastwards and move northwards as the morning progresses.
Timing and Affected Areas
By 4am, rain will hit London, and by 7am Manchester and East Anglia will get drenched. The band of rain then splits in two by 10am, with one portion drenching Hull, East Yorkshire, and the North East of England. The western rain band will drench eastern Northern Ireland, then spread westwards to cover the entire country by late afternoon. Scotland will be soaked by the eastern band of rain, with Edinburgh likely to get wet.
Counties Affected
In total, 79 counties in the UK will see rain on Tuesday. In England, affected areas include Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater London, Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Somerset, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Tyne and Wear, Warwickshire, West Midlands, West Sussex, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire.
In Wales, the counties are Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan, and Wrexham.
In Scotland, affected areas include Argyll and Bute (western islands and coast), Dumfries and Galloway, Highland (western coastal areas), and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles / Outer Hebrides). In Northern Ireland, the counties are County Antrim, County Armagh, County Down, County Fermanagh, County Londonderry, and County Tyrone.
