Be aware! A summer storm is on the way.
Having just returned from holiday and writing my first blog in almost two weeks, you’re probably thinking that bad weather follows me wherever I go given the title of this one.
After a displeasing melange of wind and rain for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, it most definitely seems that the weather is set to stay in the same gear for the rest of this week.
In fact during Thursday and Friday, an unseasonably deep area of low pressure for this time of year is set to sweep in across the UK, bringing with it wet and very windy weather. Some places could turn stormy for a time, especially across England and Wales.
The cause of this unsettled spell is our old friend the jet stream which has once again taken a track to the south of the UK and has increased in speed. As a result, developing areas of low pressure will plough towards us during the next five days.
Stormy weather in summer is by no means unheard of, but the problem at this time of year is that trees are in full leaf. The leaves act as sails in the wind, which means that damage can occur at a lower threshold of wind strength than would be the case during autumn or winter when trees are bare.
Also it’s a time of year, especially with it being half-term for some schools, when there are lots more people taking parts in leisure activities. There’ll be plenty of garden furniture, tents and other objects to get blown around.
Whilst there’ll be further fine-tuning of the detail during the next 24 hours, it looks like a band of heavy rain will march northwards across the UK during Thursday with a risk of some localised flooding.
Once the rain pushes through, heavy showers and thunderstorms will follow from the south. It’s at this point that the wind really starts to pick up.
Initially it will be south west England seeing strong winds later on Thursday afternoon, before spreading to the southern half of England and Wales during Thursday evening and into Friday.
Gusts of wind will reach 40-50mph for inland areas, with 50-60mph, locally more, around the coasts and across the hills. This strength of wind has the potential to cause damage and disruption and will give rise to difficult travelling conditions.
Other parts of the UK will be windy as well, particularly coastal areas where gales are possible – again accompanied by showers or longer spells of rain.
Beyond this, another area of low pressure will arrive on Sunday bringing further wet weather and although rain will ease to showers next week, it’ll still be cool and breezy.
As for summer, that’s gone on holiday for the time being. Where? Southern and eastern parts of Europe where sunshine and temperatures around 25-30C are expected in the coming days.
Don’t forget you can get the latest local forecast on the Channel 4 Weather website and you can also follow me on Twitter for additional updates – @liamdutton