Met Office names 13 areas facing heavy rain as flood risk rises

Temperatures are set to tumble as UK faces flood threat

Temperatures are expected to plummet and heavy rain forecast to hit doubt-stricken, triggering fear of floods following weeks of heatwaves and dry weather. 

The Met Office predicts rain to pour above Scotland and Northern Ireland, and expect it to reach England and Wales towards the end of the week. 

Wetter times and cooler conditions are expected, bringing it closer to the national average temperature than what we’ve seen over the summer.

While rain might seem like the perfect weather condition coming at just the right time, many are fearing this might cause flooding in some areas.

Although bringing much relief to arid lands and fire fighters, the UK is forecasted to receive heavy rain falls towards the latter end of the week, with Thursday being the earliest expected day.

A recent BBC forecast adds: “This drop in temperature might come as a bit of a shock for some after being accustomed to the hotter-than-average weather we’ve seen for weeks.”

The temperature shift comes after the 5th and hottest heatwave the UK has seen this year.

London’s Kew Gardens was recorded to be the hottest place with temperatures going as high as 38.1C last Thursday.

However, not all of the country will get a soaking, especially the south of England which is still set to see sunny skies, although parts of the south west could see rain on Wednesday.

13 areas expect to see rain over the coming week, per the Met Office

• Newcastle
• Barrow-in-Furness/Kendal
• Leeds
• York
• Preston
• Sheffield
• Manchester
• Weston-super-Mare
• Bath
• Cardiff
• Glasgow
• Dumfries
• Stranraer

Professor in climate risks and resilience at the University of Reading, Liz Stephens, said: Here in the South East, we’re still a month’s worth of rain below what we would normally expect by this point in the year.

“As a result, any rain which falls this week may help reduce the immediate wildfire risk.

“It will take many weeks of sustained rainfall for vegetation to recover and our rivers and reservoirs to return to normal.

“This means that we should expect hosepipe bans to be in place for some time.

“Floods can still occur during drought conditions and surface water flooding can even become more likely as baked soils are unable to soak up rainwater as quickly.”

How will the shift in weather conditions affect your day-to-day life?

Hose pipe restrictions imposed during the heatwave and drought season will be lifted in affected areas, meaning households of 27 million Brittons will gain access too their tap once again.

It was the first time the government had put restrictions in place in 50 years, since the summer of 1976.

Wessex Water said the temporary use ban would come into effect on Tuesday for all 1.4 million customers that it supplies with water across areas in Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.