Met Office reveals whether the summer will end with weather warnings or a heatwave in this week's forecast

As much of the country continues to endure thunderstorms and heavy rain, forecasters are warning of some sunlight at the end of the tunnel. A yellow weather warning was been issued for much of the UK, in place until midnight on Monday, with storms set to bring up to 80mm of rain in some parts of the country, with around 40mm falling in the space of an hour.

More than a dozen flood warnings were also still in place last night. However, some have predicted the return of the summer in September, with a possible heatwave hitting UK shores.

Sadly, the Met Office has quashed those hopes - but has hinted at some sunlit uplands on the horizon as we prepare to say goodbye to the coolest summer since 2015. Later this week, conditions are expected to be “a lot brighter and a lot more settled” than Monday, with “sunnier spells” across south-west England, Wales and northern England, the weather service added.

The warmest weather expected is on Friday, with highs of up to 27C in England’s home counties, including Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, the Met Office said. Meteorologist Liam Eslick said: “There could be quite a bit of change by the time we get to the latter part of the week – so it looks like it’s going to remain unsettled.

“We’re not looking likely that we’ll see the return of summer as it’s now meteorological autumn as we’ve started September. We’re still seeing the effects of summer even though it is technically meteorological autumn.”

He added: “We still have got that heat coming off the surface of the Earth, and with that warmer, more humid air coming off the continent as well – it’s not unusual that we see thunderstorms around this sort of time (of year)."

Data from the forecaster shows 2024 has seen a mean daily temperature (the average across 24 hours) of 14.37C – 0.22C below average. However, experts say 14.37C would still be considered warmer than average if compared with 1961-1990, when the figure was 13.78C.

Emma Carlisle, a Met Office scientist, said: "While this summer may have felt cool compared to recent years, it’s important to note where it sits in a historical context, with the changing climate of the UK increasing the frequency of warmer summers."