The Met Office has issued weather maps indicating that heavy rain will affect 10 UK regions on Friday, marking a thundery end to the country's fifth heatwave. Up to an inch of rain is expected to fall in some areas.
Friday's Forecast
The latest forecast for Friday (August 14) shows showers covering most of the country, with heavy rain expected in multiple regions. Scotland is set to have a very wet start, with central parts potentially receiving an inch of rain by 5am. By 8am, that band of rain moves out to the North Sea, but scattered showers will persist across the country.
It will be dry for the vast majority at lunchtime, although some rain will hit north Wales and Northern Ireland. In the early afternoon, heavy isolated rain is expected in northern England, around the Yorkshire Dales.
Evening Thunderstorms
Those clouds will move eastwards, bringing significant precipitation to the north east of England, East Yorkshire, and the East Midlands in the evening. As the evening progresses, these areas will see more heavy rain, while the south west and East Anglia will experience lighter showers.
The Met Office said: "Hot and sunny in the southeast. Increasingly humid for Wales and western/northern England with variable cloud and possible afternoon thunderstorms. Fresher, albeit rather cloudy, conditions for Northern Ireland and Scotland after early heavy and thundery rain clears the east."
Contrast to Recent Heat
This comes as a stark contrast to just 24 hours earlier, when Brits saw the hottest day of the year with 38.1C recorded in Kew Gardens, London. The rain will be a welcome relief for some, as most of England and Wales is in drought, and wildfires have raged across parts of the country in a record-breaking summer.
This evening's forecast reads: "Thunderstorms pushing eastwards overnight, with heavy downpours particularly possible over eastern England. Warm and muggy in the southeast, but fresher than recent nights elsewhere. A few showers for northern Scotland."
The Met Office believes 10 of the UK's 12 regions will see rain on Friday: Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, North West England, North East England, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, South West England, and East of England.
