Much of the UK is turning cooler and wetter from Sunday as a spell of unseasonably hot weather comes to an abrupt end, with rain and lower temperatures set to replace the heatwave that gripped the country through the week. By Wednesday, daytime highs are expected to fall to between 15C and 20C, a sharp change after the latest burst of early summer heat.
The shift comes after London hit a new May record of 35.1C at Kew Gardens on Tuesday, while Cardiff reached 32.9C at Bute Park, giving England and Wales their hottest May days on record on two days in a row. Cooler, fresher Atlantic air had already dragged London back from 30C on Saturday to 24C on Sunday, and a stronger jet stream is now set to steer areas of low pressure across the UK.
Rain is expected to develop in most parts of the country on Monday, with some heavy downpours in the west. Tuesday should bring a mix of sunshine and heavy showers, with thunder and lightning possible, before more rain arrives on Wednesday and stronger winds make it feel even cooler. The wetter spell will be welcomed by many gardeners and growers in southern and eastern England after a very dry few months, even if it arrives just as the heatwave gives way.
The change in the weather lands after a week in which heatwave conditions were met in several parts of the country, and the UK Health Security Agency issued amber and yellow heat health alerts for much of England. The hot spell has also been marked by a rising toll in the water: at least 14 people have died during the warm weather after getting into difficulty in water.
Among them was a 15-year-old girl who died in hospital on Saturday after getting into difficulty in the sea off the Merseyside coast on Monday. A 19-year-old man also died on Saturday after being recovered from a lake in Nottinghamshire earlier in the week. Elsewhere, a body was found in the search for a man who went into water in the Norfolk Broads, and emergency services in Yorkshire said on Sunday they were searching for an 11-year-old boy last seen entering the River Don in Mexborough.
Fresh warnings around the dangers of swimming in open water, especially for children, are likely to follow as the weather cools and the sunshine gives way to a run of rain. The immediate question for people across the country is not whether the heat has broken — it has — but how long the wetter, windier pattern will last once the rain spreads through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
