Rain maps show 23 UK regions hammered by huge downpour as heatwave comes to crashing end

The UK's latest bout of scorching hot weather is set to come to a crashing end later this month, as weather charts suggest a surge of heavy rain and thundery showers is to sweep across the nation. WXCharts maps generated using Met Desk data on August 13 show bands of intense rainfall pushing in from the northwest and southwest on Friday, August 22, and converging over large parts of the country.

Areas of bright green and yellow on the maps highlight bursts of rainfall exceeding 4mm per hour, with some pockets seeing even heavier downpours. By Saturday, August 23, the wet weather continues to push eastwards, leaving much of the country soaked, while the far north and parts of western Scotland begin to dry out, the maps suggest.

This unsettled weather would come after the UK experienced its fourth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures peaking at 33C in parts of Britain on Tuesday, August 12.

The Met Office long-range forecast for Sunday, August 17, to Tuesday, August 26 suggests the period will begin with high pressure dominating across much of the UK.

This will bring warm sunshine, calm conditions, and temperatures well above average for August, particularly in southern regions. Any showers early on will likely be restricted to the far southwest, where they could turn heavy and thundery.

However, this settled spell will be short-lived.

By the latter part of the period, forecasters expect a shift to more unsettled conditions, with showers and longer spells of rain arriving, especially in the south.

Some of these showers could be accompanied by thunder and brief downpours, raising the risk of localised flooding in vulnerable areas.

Looking further ahead, from Wednesday, August 27, to Wednesday, September 10, confidence in the exact details is low, but the general pattern points towards an unsettled outlook.

Heavy and occasionally thundery rain is likely at times, potentially accompanied by strong winds. These spells of wet weather will be interspersed with short periods of drier, more settled conditions.

Despite the shift in weather, temperatures are expected to remain above average for the time of year, with the south possibly seeing another burst of heat before summer finally fades.

Full list of regions hit by rain:

Scotland

• Aberdeenshire

• Moray

• Highland

• Angus

• Fife

Northern Ireland

• County Londonderry

• County Antrim

• County Down

England

• Northumberland

• Tyne and Wear

• Durham

• Cumbria

• Lancashire

• Greater Manchester

• Cheshire

• Derbyshire

• Nottinghamshire

• Lincolnshire

• Leicestershire

• Staffordshire

• Shropshire

Wales

• Flintshire

• Wrexham