UK weather: Poor start to the week

The nation is poised for 11 days of consecutive rain, with the annual Wimbledon tournament under threat from torrential downpours and grey skies.

Rain generally dampens the mood of spectators as it can often halt play, especially for the athletes who are competing on courts without any overhead covers.

And recent forecasts pinpoint rain – potentially thundery – arriving in the south east from today (July 4), with sporadic showers only pausing for 24 hours this weekend.

Jim Dale, senior meteorologist for British Weather Services, told Express.co.uk: “Rain is incoming across the south and south east and will be circa eight to 15mm.

“Then gradually it’ll turning much warmer (28C in the south east) and eventually humid, with the next heavy rain band set for all on Sunday.”

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Fans queuing for access to the grounds will be in for a soaking this afternoon, with rain set to hammer down on the All England Club from around midday.

This will mean outside courts are likely to be closed for hours, leaving only the main matches which are generally reserved for those who purchased tickets beforehand.

This is likely to cause upset among those keen spectators who have queued for on-the-day entry. The forecast for the rest of this week looks to be a mixed bag, with no guarantee of dry weather until at least Saturday.

Weather maps show tomorrow as being mostly dry for the south east, with the occasional shower fleeting across parts of sourthern England. 

But come Thursday night, at around 9pm, a circular band of rain pushes in from the Atlantic – drenching much of Northern Ireland on Friday, but becoming more widespread on Saturday.

However, with temperatures poised to hit 28C for a short period this weekend, Wimbledon fans may be briefly saved by the sun – until Sunday at least.

It is on Sunday afternoon where models show heavy rain to batter parts of the country – including SW19 – where the tournament is taking place up until July 16.

Met Office verdict

For this Wednesday, the forecaster says: “Sunny spells and scattered showers. A few may be on the heavy side, most likely across southeast England and the far northwest of Scotland. Feeling slightly warmer for many.”

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From Thursday to Sunday it adds: “Sunny spells and showers on Thursday. An increasing risk of heavy showers in the north and west on Friday, then more widely on Saturday. Turning hot and humid for many.”

Longer-range, between July 8 and July 17 it predicts a risk of stormy weather. It says: “The start of the period will most likely see unsettled conditions across the country.

“A band of heavy rain is moving erratically east across into western Britain. Expect very warm and humid conditions with scattering of showers, potentially developing into severe thunderstorms ahead.

“Rain from the west likely to merge with these storms later. Temperatures will be very warm/hot for most in England, eastern Wales and parts of Scotland; however, becoming cooler from the west.

“Later in the period, conditions likely to remain generally unsettled with most places seeing some rain or heavy showers at times (with a risk of thunder) but also some drier interludes with spells of sunshine.

“Overall, temperatures will be around, or a little-below average for July for most, perhaps warmer for a few locally.”

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