Summer set to fizzle out with wet and windy weather forecast into next week

Heavy rain and coastal gales are set to lash parts of the UK on Saturday, kicking off a wet and unsettled week of weather.

A frontal system moving north east is expected to hit Wales by 10.30 am, and areas of south Wales including Pembrokeshire, Swansea and Cardiff could see between 8mm and 16mm of rain per hour throughout the day.

The unsettled conditions are expected to continue through Sunday and into next week, with longer spells of rain, scattered showers, strong winds, and the risk of thunder in parts of the country. Temperatures will be near average.

Downpours

Persistent downpours are forecast for the final weekend of meteorological summer, following a deluge on Friday that saw some areas receive more than half a month’s worth of rain in just 11 hours.

Cardiff will have cloudy skies changing to heavy rain by lunchtime, while Belfast will see light rain by late morning. Conversely, Edinburgh could reach 20C, though heavy afternoon rain is likely.

However, it seems much of Wales will return to cloudy skies with no rain by the early evening.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said some parts of the country may see sunshine early on Saturday, but a frontal system moving in from the west will bring heavy rain and strong winds later in the day.

“It’s also worth highlighting that there could be some thunder mixed in with this wet weather and it’s also going to add to a slightly fresher feel to things,” he said.

Record heat

The Met Office reported that this summer would “almost certainly” be the UK’s warmest on record as the mean average temperature for the season stood at 16.13C, based on data up to August 28.

If this season is confirmed as setting a new high for average temperature, it will mean all of the UK’s top five warmest summers will have occurred since the year 2000.

The top five are currently 2018 (15.76C), 2006 (15.75C), 2003 (15.74C), 2022 (15.71C) and 1976 (15.70C).