Gruelling heat expected to give way to cooler temperatures and sporadic rain
The UK is set to welcome fresher conditions on Sunday as baking heat gives way to cooler temperatures and sporadic rain.
The Met Office said Saturday marked the end of the sweltering heatwave that has baked the nation for much of this week, with a record breaking 32.9C measured at Cardiff’s Bute Park on Tuesday.
Light showers will cross the country for much of the day, with Carmarthen seeing the heaviest downpours throughout the afternoon and coastal regions largely escaping rain.
Temperatures will remain relatively high between 15C and 19C, with wind speeds of 23mph across much of Wales and highs of 27mph off the Penarth coast.
Met Office noted Sunday would be “rather grey” but added that “cloud will lift and break throughout the morning allowing some spells of sunshine to develop. A few showers will also develop but many will remain dry.
“Tonight, apart from the odd shower it will be a dry evening with some late sunshine. Overnight cloud will tend to increase with the breeze also freshening. Minimum temperature 13 °C.”
Scattered showers are also expected elsewhere in the UK, with temperatures closer to the average for this time of year.
Highs of 24C are expected in London on Sunday, with 19C in Birmingham, 17C in Aberdeen and 19C in Belfast.
Meanwhile, outbreaks of rain are expected to be most frequent and heaviest in northern and western areas, while the east and southeast remain mostly clear.
The hot weather over the last week has attracted many people to open-water swimming, resulting in a number of deaths in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Cornwall, Hampshire, Warwickshire, Cheshire, Pembrokeshire, Lincolnshire and Lancashire over recent days.
These include a 72-year-old woman who died after being pulled from the water at West Angle Bay beach in Pembrokeshire, on Sunday and a 13-year-old boy, understood to be Reco Puttock, who died after getting into difficulty at Leadbeater Dam, near Halifax, West Yorkshire, on Monday.
On Saturday evening, South East Water said drinking water supplies had been restored for 15,500 customers across Kent, including in the Whitstable and Herne Bay areas, following issues with its network over the hot period.
Incident manager Steve Benton said: “Whilst this is positive, we are conscious that today has been another hot day and demand has remained high.
“Although our network is continuing to recover, levels of drinking water in our storage tanks are still low and we are asking customers to use water for essential purposes only – drinking, cooking, and hygiene.
“We are continuing to use our tankers to support the network and aid recovery”
The company added that it was working on restoring supply to some 500 customers who had no water, while a further 3,600 had intermittent supplies.
Mr Benton said: “We are also aware that some customers in the Wincheap area of Canterbury may have been experiencing no water, which is due to a burst water main. This is currently being repaired.
“In addition, there are approximately 3,600 customers who may be experiencing low pressure or an intermittent supply during the day in the Coxheath, Loose, Headcorn, Ulcombe and Benenden and Wraik Hill areas.
“This means that water will go on and off throughout the day, with no water or low pressure at peak times, particularly between 4pm and 7pm.
“We are sincerely sorry to customers for disruption to their water supply and know how frustrating it is, especially in hot weather.”
The company said it had given out a million litres of water at its bottled water stations across Kent, and was working to identify new locations for collection points.
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