Total washout with torrential rain and strong winds to hammer Britain on gloomy ‘last weekend of summer’

Torrential rain and strong winds are set to hammer Britain in the coming days, marking a gloomy ‘last weekend of summer‘. 

Downpours will hit western parts of the UK on Saturday, while up to 30-40mm of ‘persistent’ rain could be seen in some areas, the Met Office has said.

The west is also at risk of gales and ‘flooding of roads and low-lying land is possible’, meteorologist Alex Burkill warned. 

Other parts of the country are also set to experience ‘a pretty blustery day’ before the weather begins moving north-eastwards, resulting in eastern areas becoming ‘wetter’ by Saturday evening. 

David Oliver, deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, warned that across coasts, headlands and high ground there could be wind gusts in excess of 50mph on Saturday and Sunday. 

He added: ‘A deep area of low pressure will develop close to the UK on Saturday and track northeast over the weekend, bringing wet and windy weather for many.’

Meanwhile, Rod Dennis, a spokesperson for the RAC, said that drivers should anticipate ‘difficult driving conditions’ on the roads on Saturday.

He said that the deluge will ‘likely to lead to some difficult driving conditions for many, as the wet spell coincides with a big weekend for families driving home at the end of the summer holidays.’

Cyclists in Westminster battle the rain on August 29. Rod Dennis, a spokesperson for the RAC, has warned that drivers should anticipate ‘difficult driving conditions’ on the roads on Saturday

The hottest summer on record ended in deluge on Friday as parts of the UK experienced more than half a month’s worth of rain in 11 hours. Pictured: women desperately try to shelter from the rainfall in London

Downpours will hit western parts of the UK on Saturday, while up to 30-40mm of ‘persistent’ rain could be seen in some areas across the day, the Met Office has said. The west is also at risk of gales and ‘flooding of roads and low-lying land is possible’

Hail, thunder and lighting are expected to hit western parts of the country on Sunday. Showers are forecast across most areas, intercepted with small bursts of bright, sunny spells

Pictured: A woman braves the wet conditions in Wimbledon Common, south west London on Friday morning

On Saturday, parts of the country are also set to experience ‘a pretty blustery day’ before the weather begins moving north-eastwards, resulting in eastern areas becoming ‘wetter; by Saturday evening

Hail, thunder and lighting are expected to hit western parts of the country on Sunday. Showers are forecast across most of the country, intercepted with small bursts of bright, sunny spells.

It comes after heavy downpours were seen on England’s southern coast between Thursday night and Friday morning, as the remnants of Hurricane Erin were subsumed into a low pressure system. 

The hottest summer on record ended in deluge as parts of the UK experienced more than half a month’s worth of rain in 11 hours. 

On Friday, Heligan Gardens in Cornwall experienced up to 63mm of rain, while 56mm were recorded in Mount Batten, Devon.  

Fire crews were even called to rescue a family from their home in Torpoint, Cornwall, with the town’s fire station warning of deep flood water along the main roads. 

The Met Office issued an expanded yellow warning this morning for London and the south east of England with up to 70mm (2.8in) of heavy rain set to fall up to 12pm.

Warnings were issued for those living in coastal areas in particular, with heavy showers likely to be more prolonged and residents to consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit.

There were also fears that the torrential rain could strike the public with power cuts as the Met Office advises to prepare for them in advance by gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.

A walker with a dog on a waterlogged Wimbledon Common on Friday morning

 It comes after heavy downpours were seen on England’s southern coast between Thursday night and Friday morning, as the remnants of Hurricane Erin were subsumed into a low pressure system. The Met Office issued an expanded yellow warning this morning (pictured)

Wet and windy conditions will sweep in for the final days of meteorological summer, with showers and longer spells of rain

As the end of August looks set to be a washout, this could be accompanied by ‘the odd rumbles of thunder’

The torrential rain could also strike the public with power cuts as the Met Office advises to prepare for them in advance by gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items

Commuters were told to expect road and public transport delays as travel chaos is set to hit the south-east of the country.

Weather chaos hit parts of Devon and Cornwall as torrential rain has caused major flooding and damage to buildings.

Overnight rain saw a family rescued by fire crews from a flooded home in Torpoint, Cornwall.

A landslide also blocked the A379 in Devon in Modbury and ‘ankle-deep water’ was reported in the Isles of Scilly.

In Plymouth and Looe, properties were flooded, and fire crews in Devon were called to 15 incidents overnight. 

The forecasters also issued a yellow weather warning for the south west of England and Wales yesterday, but the rain has now cleared and they have been removed from the warning.

Wet and windy conditions will sweep in for the final days of meteorological summer, with showers and longer spells of rain falling over much of the UK.

Average rainfall this August is well below normal at 35.6mm, compared to the average of 93.75mm.

Wet and windy conditions will sweep in for the final days of meteorological summer, with showers and longer spells of rain falling over much of the UK.

The Met Office issued warnings for those living in coastal areas, stating that heavy showers are likely to be more prolonged and telling locals to consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit

The Met Office issued this earlier yellow warning for rain for between 10pm on Thursday night and 12pm 

A 14-hour warning covered London and the whole of England’s south coast, while a separate yellow alert was also in place for South Wales from 8am until 4pm yesterday.

But despite the deluge, there has been no change to the three hosepipe bans in place across the UK despite the three inches of deluge.

Thames Water asked 1.1million customers not to use hosepipes, including for cleaning cars, watering plants, filling pools or cleaning windows.

Homes served by the firm, as well as Yorkshire Water and South East Water, were hit by the ban following one of the driest springs on record and decreasing reservoir levels.

Temperatures were in the high teens for most areas yesterday, with highs of around 20C (68F) in London and the South East and 15C (59F) in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

On Tuesday, the Met Office said this summer would ‘almost certainly’ be the UK’s warmest on record as the mean average temperature for the season stood at 16.13C (61.03F), based on data up to August 25.

This is higher than the existing summer record of 15.76C (60.37F), which was set in 2018.

Zoe Hutin, a senior meteorologist at the Met Office, said: ‘Given the last two and a half month’s of hot weather, temperatures have been sufficiently above average that the comparatively lower temperatures coming will not significantly affect the mean temperature of the meteorological summer.

Dark clouds and rainfall at Trafalgar Square in London on Thursday ahead of the weather warning

A pedestrian walks through Trafalgar Square under an umbrella on a wet day in London on Thursday

Wet paving slabs at Trafalgar Square in London on Thursday afternoon following rainfall 

‘Even taking that into account the rain and cloud which is forecast, it’s still going to likely be the warmest on record.

‘Mean temperatures would need to be around 10 degrees or so for this summer not to surpass the current hottest summer, and so it’s almost certainly going to be a record-breaker. 

‘Temperatures are actually still a little bit above what is normally expected at the end of August, especially for the South East of the country.

‘For the North and North East, despite the rain and cloud, the temperatures will actually be around the average for this time of year, despite feeling a little bit cooler because of the unsettled conditions.

‘Urban spots especially could be around average or even a couple of degrees above average in places. So it looks likely it will still almost certainly be a record-breaking summer in terms of average temperatures, unless something drastic were to happen.’

A spell of more persistent rain is forecast over the weekend, with up to 20mm likely across many regions.

Strong winds could also hit, particularly along coasts, with gusts in excess of 50mph.

If this season is confirmed as setting a new high for average temperature, it will mean all of the UK’s top five warmest summers will have occurred since the year 2000.

The top five are currently 2018 (15.76C), 2006 (15.75C), 2003 (15.74C), 2022 (15.71C) and 1976 (15.70C).