London is finally set to see meaningful rain for the first time since June 22, with showers expected late Tuesday into the early hours of Wednesday and again on Thursday, according to the Met Office. The news comes after weeks of back-to-back heatwaves that have left parks dry and streets baking.
When will it rain?
Met Office deputy chief forecaster Mike Silverstone said there will be 'meaningful' rain late Tuesday into Wednesday and again on Thursday. 'Thursday will be a day of heavy showers across much of the UK, while some of these will be heavy, some areas will miss them altogether,' he added. By the middle of this week, many places that have largely missed out on rain recently are likely to see some wet weather.
Silverstone warned that some showers could be intense, leading to a chance of surface water flooding as rain falls on very dry and hard ground. He noted that there will be fewer showers on Friday before drier weather returns through the weekend, with further rain forecast next week as low pressure takes charge.
Thursday's forecast and what it means
Thursday's London forecast predicts rain from 11am to 9pm, with up to a 60% chance of precipitation at 4pm. This percentage indicates the likelihood of at least 0.1mm of rain in a given area at that time, based on multiple models, not the intensity or coverage.
The rain will be a welcome respite after temperatures reached 38.1°C earlier this month in Kew Gardens during the fifth heatwave of the year. This made 2026 the year with the most 37-degrees-or-above days on record in the UK.
Limited impact expected
Meteorologist Jim NR Dale, founder of British Weather Services, said the Tuesday-Wednesday rain won't amount to much, with about 4mm max in the south and Midlands and 1mm in London. He called it 'useless in the grand scheme of things.'
Dale attributed the scorching summer to a 'heat dome' of high pressure over Europe and a 'super El Niño' weather system, both supercharged by climate change. He said Londoners should expect 'long, dry summers and long, wet winters' as the new norm, describing it as 'a Mediterranean climate in all but name' and adding that 'burning fossil fuels is the culprit.'
