The UK will almost certainly record its hottest summer on record despite a washout end to August. The mean temperature for summer 2024 stands at 16.13C, surpassing the previous record of 15.76C set in 2018.
Wet and windy conditions will sweep across the country for the final days of meteorological summer. Thursday and Friday will bring showers and longer spells of rain, with parts of Wales, North West England and Scotland seeing the worst conditions.
Weekend storm brings heavy rain
The weekend will see more persistent rainfall with up to 20mm expected across many regions. Strong winds will hit coastal areas particularly hard, with gusts exceeding 50mph.
According to the Mirror, specific hourly rainfall rates will reach 3-5mm per hour in Scotland and 2mm per hour in southern England including London. Temperatures will remain in the high teens for most areas, reaching around 20C in London and the South East.
Record status remains secure
Zoe Hutin, a senior meteorologist at the Met Office, said: "Given the last two and a half months 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."
She explained that mean temperatures would need to drop around 10 degrees for this summer not to surpass the current record. "So it's almost certainly going to be a record-breaker," Hutin added.
Climate trend continues
If confirmed, this record will mean all of the UK's top five warmest summers have occurred since 2000. The current top five are 2018 (15.76C), 2006 (15.75C), 2003 (15.74C), 2022 (15.71C) and 1976 (15.70C).
The meteorological summer runs from June to August, and despite the dramatic contrast between the hot conditions experienced through most of the season and the unsettled finale, the record appears secure.
Sources used: "PA Media", "Mirror", "Evening Standard", "Liverpool Echo"
Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
