Weather: Mercury set to drop before warmer weekend

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Sunny weather, while welcomed by many Britons, has hammered the UK over the last month. The country saw its highest temperatures on July 19 when forecasters recorded up to 42C for the first time. Those stifling highs have since dissipated, but southeast England is on the verge of crisis as Kent, Hertfordshire and Essex face a drought.

When will it rain in the southeast?

Last week’s heatwave peaked in the southeast, where temperatures reached a record-breaking 40.3C at Heathrow.

The region has remained primarily summery since then, gifting a pleasant final few days of July with 25C highs as areas further north bathe in heavy rain.

While likely welcomed by many, southerners will have started noticing the fallout from weeks without rain, and some may be growing anxious.

Many gardens and green spaces further south have lost their sheen as plants wilt from a lack of water.

The situation is unlikely to change in Kent, where forecasters expect rainfall will remain scarce.

The Met Office expects rain will only fall over the area in a “fragmenting band” today, leaving most areas parched.

Over the next few days, people can expect the forecast to remain cloudy but dry, with the highest chance of precipitation locked in at 10 percent for now.

Looking at Hertfordshire to the northeast of London, the forecast is similar, with rain likely for one hour only between 4pm and 5pm.

But residents can expect more rain over the next week, primarily on the weekend.

After a week of low precipitation chances, the chance of showers increases on Saturday, rising to 30 percent by 1pm.

And on Sunday, July 31, the area will see its most enduring rainy spell in weeks, with showers tipped to last from 1pm to 7pm.

Essex will enjoy similar conditions after sharing in the southeastern showers this morning.

The area can expect more showers on Friday, July 29, from 4pm and the coming Sunday with Hertfordshire.

Essex residents will see their rain last into the night, 11 hours altogether, from 1pm to 12am.

The rain should help revitalise gardens across the southeast but won’t mark the start of a much-needed trend.

The first week of August will remain widely dry and “settled” in the southeast, while northern areas see the rainiest weather.

The Met Office long-range forecast from July 30 to August 8 states “changeable” conditions will loom over the north while “clear, sunny spells” stay south.

Forecasters said only “central areas” are likely to see rain, while “far southeast” areas “may turn cloudier at times”.

At best, people living there can expect “isolated showers at times”, meaning rain will do little to remedy the near-drought conditions.

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