Thunderstorms set to hit UK after coolest summer since 2015

Thunderstorms are set to hit parts of the UK this week as the country is unlikely to “see the return of summer”, forecasters have warned.

A yellow weather warning has been issued by the Met Office covering large parts of the UK, during which up to 80mm of rain may fall in the worst affected areas in eastern Scotland.

The warning for thunderstorms, which is in place all day Monday until midnight, covers central and northern England, a large part of Scotland and all of Wales.

Some affected areas may see up to 40mm of rainfall in less than an hour as well as lightning strikes, hail and a risk of flash flooding, the forecaster said.

The alerts covered areas in central England including Bottle Brook in Derbyshire, the River Blyth in Warwickshire and the River Maun in Nottinghamshire.

It comes after the UK saw the coolest summer since 2015, bucking a trend of warm summers in recent years.

According to provisional Met Office statistics, the mean daily temperature (the average across 24 hours) was 14.37C – 0.22C below average.

But the forecaster pointed out that 14.37C would still be considered warmer than average if compared with 1961-1990, when the figure was 13.78C.

Met Office scientist Emma Carlisle 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.”

Later this week, showers are expected to continue into Tuesday morning, but 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 forecast for Wednesday is “sunshine and showers”, with most rainfall concentrated in England and Wales accompanied by a small chance of thunder and highs of 24C in south-east England.

Conditions for the remainder of the week look “unsettled” with further outbreaks of rain and thunder in southern England looking likely, the Met Office said.

The warmest weather expected is on Friday with highs of up to 27C in England’s home counties, including Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, according to the forecaster.

Liam Eslick, meteorologist at the Met Office, 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.”

“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),” he added.

According to the Met Office website, the meteorological seasons divide the year into four periods of three months to make it “easier” to compare seasonal weather statistics.