The Met Office has named 154 areas across the UK that will see “frequent showers” and “very heavy” downpours on Thursday, as the nation experiences its “first meaningful rain for a long time”.
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said Wednesday is expected to be a “very showery day” across the UK, with Northern Ireland and areas in western and central Scotland seeing “frequent showers with heavy downpours, hail and thunder”. In the south, showers will be “fewer and further between”, while central England and eastern Wales could still see some downpours.
Rain not a drought solution
McGivern warned the precipitation is “not going to solve the drought situation overnight”. He said: “I suspect many people across England and Wales will at least enjoy the feel of some rain falling out of the sky during the next few days, but it’s not going to solve the drought situation overnight because we’re not expecting huge amounts and it will be highly variable because a lot of it will come in the form of showers.”
Alongside the drizzles on Wednesday, highs of 25C in London, 20C in Cardiff, 19C in Manchester and 16C in Glasgow are expected, according to the weather service.
Thursday's downpours
Further rain is forecast on Thursday as “very heavy” downpours will begin across parts of northern England and north and west Wales, with frequent showers in the southwest, McGivern said. That afternoon will bring a “better chance” of showers further south and “dumping a reasonable amount of rain in places”, he added. “But again, because they’re showers, it will be hit and miss, very speckled in nature.”
In the early hours, light rain will fall in the South West, with Okehampton, Bath and Weston-super-Mare all expecting showers at around 6am. Several areas in Wales will also see rainfall, including Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil. As the day continues, heavier rain will fall in the north, as a thick band of rain is expected to drench from Chester to Harrogate at around 11am.
By 1pm, much of Yorkshire will have experienced heavy showers with Leeds, York and Wakefield turning a deep blue according to Met Office weather maps. In the afternoon, rain will continue to fall in the North as Manchester is forecast showers. On the South Coast, showers are also expected, with Brighton and Bournemouth forecast drizzle at around 3pm. Rain will spread further south as the evening continues with the Midlands also welcoming downpours. The weather maps show Lincoln, Derby and Nottingham to be drenched by 6pm.
Although many areas in the south will see light showers, the Met Office states the heaviest rain is forecast in the north of England, illustrated with dark blue shading on the map. Into the night, much of Wales will have also seen rain.
Full list of areas forecast rain
St Austell, Okehampton, Bath, Weston-super-Mare, Swansea, Pontypridd, Merthyr Tydfil, Llandeilo, Llandovery, Machynlleth, Barmouth, Llanwddyn, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Ruthin, St Asaph, Chester, Blackpool, Skipton, Harrogate, High Bentham, Leyburn, Hawes, Northallerton, Workington, Sunderland, Hexham, Langholm, Dumfries, Whithorn, Newton Stewart, Moffat, Ayr, Cumnock, Sanquhar, Duns, Crieff, Auchtermuchty, St Andrews, Dundee, Arbroath, Brechin, Bridge of Dye, Aberlour, Laxford bridge, Truro, Falmouth, Tiverton, Lynton, Swindon, Bristol, Dursley, Cardiff, Gloucester, Evesham, Market Drayton, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Northwich, Liverpool, Preston, Burnley, Leeds, Malton, Thirst, Pickering, Ripon, Ambleside, Ireby, Larkhall, Lauder, Kingussie, Kinbrace, Dalganachan, Craigtown, Forres, Banff, Brough, Seascale, Scarborough, York, Wakefield, Goole, Hull, Lancaster, Wigan, Manchester, Rochdale, Doncaster, Mansfield, Matlock, Ashbourne, Newtown, Oxford, Devizes, Foxham, Grantham, Horncastle, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Warrington, Flint, Bolton, Colwyn Bay, Porthmadog, Birmingham, Tregaron, Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Saffron Walden, Worthing, Brighton, Plymouth, Salcombe, Grimsby, Kendal, Whitby, Hartlepool, Stanhope, Alston, Newcastle upon Tyne, Rochester, Aberdeen, Craigtown, Thurso, Middlesbrough, Penrith, Bradford, Gainsborough, Mablethorpe, Macclesfield, Southport, Wolverhampton, Burry Port, Launceston, Eastbourne, Hastings, Lincoln, Derby, Nottingham, Bridgnorth, Boston, Skegness, Cambridge, Shrewsbury, Cardigan, Fishguard, Chepstow, Newbury, Slough, Epsom, Chichester, Bournemouth, Swanage, Honiton.
Cooler conditions and drought context
Temperatures are also set to be below average for a large part of the UK on Thursday, which is “something we’ve seen on only a handful of days this summer,” the forecaster continued.
The rainfall comes after a hosepipe ban began for all of Wessex Water’s 1.4 million customers across areas in Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire on Tuesday. It is the first ban the company has put in place for 50 years, since the summer of 1976. More than 27 million people across England have now had hosepipe use restricted in their area after months of hot and dry weather.
The cooler and wetter conditions come after the UK’s fifth heatwave of the summer, during which the hottest day of the year was recorded in Kew Gardens, London, on Thursday when temperature reached 38.1C.
