England and Wales suffer driest July on record but Tuesday may bring relief for parts of UK
Some 19 counties across England recorded effectively no rainfall across the whole of the month, the Met Office figures show.
England and Wales have had their driest July in records dating back to 1836, provisional statistics from the Met Office show.
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And southern England has experienced its driest month, as more records tumble amid a summer of extreme weather that has seen multiple heatwaves and the whole of Wales and half of England plunged into drought.
Some 19 counties across England recorded effectively no rainfall – 1mm or less – across the whole of the month, the Met Office figures show.
Southern England also had its hottest July on record, while it was the joint hottest July on record for Wales, and the UK and England had their second hottest July, the provisional figures show.
And in an exceptionally sunny month, the UK, England and Wales have all recorded their sunniest Julys on record – and for England and Wales it was the sunniest calendar month ever observed, the Met Office said.
Read more: Temperatures to cool after fourth heatwave of the year sparks wildfires and drought
Read more: Drought extended as Wales on course for driest July in 190 years
The Met Office said that there will be "a few isolated thunderstorms" overight on Monday but it will otherwise be a "largely dry and warm night" beside minimal scattered rain.
Monday comes with little chance of rain, particularly in the south of England, which will be largely dry with "sunny spells and feeling very hot".
But the forecaster says in its Tuesday forecast: "Outbreaks of heavy rain in the north today with a risk of thunder. Scattered showers in the south with the odd thunderstorm. Very warm and humid. Windy in the north."
The north west and Scotland appear more likely to experience rainfall, according to its forecast.
Some rain could arrive in the south from Wednesday to Friday, but dry conditions could return again on Thursday.
"Rather unsettled in the north over the next few days with rain or showers. Some showers in the south at first, but turning drier from Thursday," the Met Office adds.