London faces a week of persistent rain marking a dramatic end to what has been a record-breaking summer. The Met Office forecasts showers from Thursday afternoon through next Wednesday, with temperatures staying in the low twenties despite the wet conditions.
Thursday will see sunny weather changing to heavy showers by lunchtime, reaching 22C. Friday brings light rain transitioning to sunny intervals by early evening at 21C, while the weekend continues the pattern of mixed conditions.
Record summer transition
This week's unsettled weather marks the end of meteorological summer on Sunday, August 31. According to the Express, UK summer 2024 is almost certainly set to be the hottest on record, with a mean temperature of 16.13C surpassing the previous record of 15.76C set in 2018.
The weekend weather system will bring particularly intense conditions. Reports from dailystar.co.uk indicate the rain will progress from 1pm Saturday in the southwest to 10pm affecting eastern regions like Cambridge and Norwich, with 10-20mm of rainfall and wind gusts exceeding 50mph.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Steve Willington said: "A westerly regime is now in charge of the UK's weather and will help fuel periods of wet and windy weather over the next few days, with showers and some longer spells of rain likely for much of the UK on Thursday and Friday."
September outlook uncertain
The nottinghampost.com reports that the September 1-10 forecast includes potential thunderstorms and hail alongside changeable conditions. This represents a stark contrast to the prolonged dry weather that characterised much of the summer.
The mirror notes that all of the UK's top five warmest summers have occurred since 2000, highlighting the broader climate trend. Willington warned that parts of Wales, northwest England and western Scotland could see weather impacts over the coming days.
London's detailed forecast shows the pattern continuing: Saturday reaches 22C with sunny intervals turning cloudy, Sunday sees light showers developing from sunny intervals at 22C, while Monday through Wednesday bring temperatures of 21C, 20C and 20C respectively with persistent shower activity.
Sources used: "MyLondon", "Express", "dailystar.co.uk", "nottinghampost.com", "mirror" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
