London is set to face five days of rain across this week and the bank holiday weekend, according to BBC Weather. Forecasters are predicting a washout from Thursday after one of England's driest summers to date.
Rain is set to move in from Wednesday, with light showers and drizzle scattered through the day and highs of 26C. A bout of thundery showers is forecast at around 3am on Thursday morning, rumbling on until around 7am. The showers are forecast to continue across the morning until around 11am, with highs of around 24C.
Thursday night and Friday rain
The relatively dry afternoon will see sunny spells and light winds, though the reprieve from the rain will be short-lived. Thursday night will bring another shower at around 9pm, before the rain returns at 2am on Friday morning. Rain is forecast to pepper the capital from the early hours of Friday until 1am on Saturday. The downpour will turn to drizzle between 4pm and 8pm, but it will still be a very wet end to the working week.
Saturday is set to be much drier throughout the morning, but Londoners will see a drizzly spell between 3pm and 6pm, before another spate of showers hits the capital at 7pm.
Wettest day and Notting Hill Carnival
Sunday looks to be the wettest day of the weekend with a 66% chance of rain forecast at 10am, showering down on the capital until 4pm. There will be some sunny spells during the late afternoon. In its 10-day outlook, the forecaster is also anticipating more rain to fall on bank holiday Monday. Light showers are expected in London between 7am and 10am, and again between 2pm and 3pm.
It comes as millions of revellers are set to flock to Notting Hill Carnival, which takes place annually over the bank holiday weekend. But, rain has historically never proved a problem for the festivities and the carnival goes ahead rain or shine.
Drought and wildfire context
The spate of rain showers will provide some much needed reprieve for Londoners. There was no meaningful rain in London in July, with forecasters measuring zero rain in parts of north London and just 1mm in areas south of the river. Millions of people were placed under hosepipe bans as London was declared to be in drought. The capital's green spaces have been scorched, turning from bright green to straw-coloured and becoming hotbeds for wildfires in a matter of months.
This summer has seen record wildfires in England and Wales, totalling more than 1,000, according to data shared by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).
In a weather update on its website, the Met Office wrote: "A relatively unsettled start to this period, as showers or longer spells of rain are possible across many parts of the UK, along with some strong winds. Some heavy bursts and thunderstorms are likely at times. It will likely remain changeable into early September, with rainfall amounts probably above average for the time of year and the potential for some more strong winds at times. However, some drier, more settled interludes could develop at times. Temperatures are likely to be near average, although some short-lived warm or hot spells are possible, especially in the south."
