'Rain bomb' set to hit Britain in wet and windy end to summer

The Met Office has warned the weather will turn increasingly unsettled over the next week with temperatures returning to near average.

An area of low pressure in the northwest of the UK is expected to pick up weather systems from the Atlantic over the next few days, bringing a more unsettled end to the summer.

A band of rain over the central swathe of the UK will move eastwards and turn increasingly showery.

The rain band, which could be thundery in places, will continue to spread eastwards throughout Wednesday, with sunshine and showers following.

Later in the week the weather will remain changeable with temperatures for most around average for late August.

Rain will be most frequent and heaviest across the west, with a risk of thunder and gusty winds at times.

Read more: Wales and Northern Ireland see warmest August bank holiday on record, Met Office confirms

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Provisional statistics from the Met Office show that summer 2025 will ‘almost certainly’ be the warmest summer on record for the UK.

It would move 2018 off the top spot and relegate 1976 out of the top five warmest summer in a series which dates back to 1884.

The UK’s mean temperature from 1 June to 25 August currently stands at 16.13°C, which is 1.54°C above the long-term meteorological average.

At present, 2018 is the warmest summer since 1884, with a mean temperature of 15.76°C.

“Unless temperatures are around four degrees below average for the rest of August – which the forecast does not suggest – it looks like the current record will be exceeded,” Met Office scientist Emily Carlisle said.

“Of course, there are still a few days left of meteorological summer to go but it’s very unlikely anything will stop summer 2025 from being the warmest on record.”