The Met Office has identified 79 counties across the UK that will experience heavy rain on Tuesday, August 25, as thunderstorms move from south to north.
After months of heatwaves that brought drought to much of the country and more than 1,000 wildfires, the middle of August has finally delivered some much-needed rain. This past week has seen precipitation sweep over much of the UK.
Weekend outlook and Tuesday's wet start
The coming weekend will remain relatively dry, but wet weather returns on Tuesday as thunderstorms move from south to north, soaking millions.
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 leaves Tuesday starting wet. Bands of heavy rain in the south-west then begin to spread eastwards and move northwards as the morning progresses.
Rain bands split and spread across the country
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. From there, this Northern Irish blob of rain will spread westwards to cover the entire country by late afternoon. Scotland will, at the same time, be soaked by the eastern band of rain, with Edinburgh likely to get wet.
Full list of 79 affected counties
In total, 79 counties in the UK will see rain on Tuesday. They include all areas of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, such as 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.
Wales will see rain in 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. Scotland will be affected in Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, Highland, and Na h-Eileanan Siar. Northern Ireland will see rain in County Antrim, County Armagh, County Down, County Fermanagh, County Londonderry, and County Tyrone.
