Parts of the united kingdom have faced rain and localised flooding this weekend, but forecasters have said drier and sunnier weather might be possible by the top of the month.
Heavy downpours caused flooding in areas of London on Saturday, and therefore the Met Office warned that torrential rain would still affect the south-east of England throughout the day torrential rain across Scotland has closed railway lines, flooded streets and led to at least one car being abandoned after it had been submerged in water.
A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms is in situ for many of Scotland on Saturday and Sunday, with the Met Office warning it’s going to cause flooding and power cuts.
There also are warnings of heavy rain, thunderstorms, flooding, lightning strikes, cold winds and hail in northern England and Northern Ireland over the weekend.
Videos and photos of heavy flooding on the roads, and drains filled with water, were posted on social media by people in Walthamstow, east London, and Battersea in south London. Two London underground stations – Stepney Green and Holborn – were closed as a results of flooding, also as a platform at Liverpool Street station.
Network Rail said staff had detected 5ft of floodwater within the twin tunnels at Dalmuir, north west of Glasgow, on the route from Yoker. the road between Argyle Street and Bridgeton in Glasgow also closed due to track circuit failures from suspected flooding.
However, it’s likely that the weather will clear up for an opportunity of a drier summer towards the top of August.
Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said: “It’s getting to stay quite changeable, a minimum of for subsequent week, but as we head towards the top of August, there’s a likelihood we’ll see a warmer spell of weather and drier, more settled weather across the entire of the united kingdom .”
While it’s too early to predict temperatures at this stage, she said, it could “potentially be within the high 20s”. Mitchell said that albeit it’s going to not appear to be it, this summer has been “warmer and drier than average”.
She explained that the sole exception has been the south-east of England, which has been wetter than usual and has already had 111% of its average rainfall for the summer.
The worst-hit places thus far are the town of London, which has had 143% of its average rainfall this summer; the Isle of Wight, with 174% of its average summer rainfall; and Surrey with 126%.
The Met Office had issued a yellow thunderstorm warning from 4am until midnight on Saturday, covering Northern Ireland , north Wales, northern England and up into central Scotland.
Forecasters said 20mm to 30mm of rain could fall in some areas over the space of an hour on Saturday, after 40mm to 60mm of rain fell in parts on Friday.