Weekend weather forecast: Met Office predicts heavy rain and blustery conditions as summer comes to an end
Following heavy downpours for many this week, the Met Office is predicting more rain for the final weekend of summer.
It is set to be a soggy end to summer, according to Met Office predictions, following heavy downpours which brought half a month’s rain in 11 hours to parts of the UK this week. Remnants of Hurricane Erin brought the heaviest downpours to England’s southern coast between Thursday night and Friday morning.
Ahead of the last weekend of meteorological summer, the national weather service is expecting more of the same over the next couple of days which they say is not “particularly unusual for the summer months”. After a yellow rain warning ended at 12pm on Friday, Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey said: “You would expect summer rainfall to be these sort of intense, heavy bursts along with dry periods in between.
“So it’s not unusual to get really heavy downpours in the summer period, where you get high percentage of the month’s rainfall in a short period of time. They were quite intense showers, and yes, they were quite heavy, but I’m not sure I call them particularly unusual for the summer months.”
Heligan Gardens, Cornwall, received 63mm of rain, 56mm were recorded in Mount Batten, Devon, and 49.9mm in Friar Waddon, Dorset, between 10pm on Thursday and 9am on Friday. Cornwall’s average rainfall for the whole of August is 92.5mm, Devon’s is 94.2mm, and Dorset’s is 72mm.
Fire crews rescued a family from their flooded home in Torpoint, Cornwall, and the town’s fire station warned of deep flood water on the A374 from Wilcove to Antony. A landslide blocked the A379 in Modbury, Devon, and fire crews in the county were called to 15 incidents overnight on Thursday, the BBC reported.
The RAC breakdown service said the rain did not cause widespread issues on the roads, but said further downpours are forecast on Saturday. Rain and strong winds will push through western parts of the UK during Saturday and the rain is expected to be heavy and persistent, unlike the recent short-lived and intense downpours.
Saturday will bring 10-20mm of rain quite widely and some western higher ground areas locations could have 30-40mm, Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said. There is a risk of gales in western areas “but even elsewhere it is going to be a pretty blustery day”, he added. The weather front is moving north-eastwards and eastern areas will become wetter by Saturday evening, he added.
Hail, thunder and lightning could hit western parts of the country on Sunday. Showers are forecast across most of the country but interspersed with bright, sunny spells.
Ms Maxey said: “There are no plans for warnings as the situation stands at the moment. There’s a definite autumnal feel for the last couple of days, but there’s not anything that we’re worrying about.”
Mark Garratt, flood duty manager the EA, warned on Friday: “Heavy and persistent showers mean minor surface water flooding is probable across parts of the East and South East of England today.
“Environment Agency teams will be out on the ground and supporting local authorities in responding to surface water flooding. We urge people not to drive through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”
He recommended people search “check my flood risk” online, sign up to receive free flood warnings, and check the @EnvAgency account on X, formerly Twitter.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “While yesterday’s rainfall didn’t cause widespread problems on the roads, drivers shouldn’t be fooled as there are further downpours forecast on Saturday. This is likely to lead to some difficult driving conditions for many, as the wet spell coincides with a big weekend for families returning home at the end of the summer holidays.”