Welcome to summer 2026, meteorologically speaking. The spring months are March, April and May, when we saw temperatures peak at 35.1C on 26th May in the recent heatwave. The top temperature for this week is likely to be 25C on Monday. For the first week of June, it might seem more like autumn at times, but welcome relief for those who found the heat all too much, by day or night. For statistical purposes, here in the UK, we use June, July and August as our summer months. The first thoughts about the summer forecast have been issued. There is still some warmth for Monday and Tuesday but as a series of Atlantic weather fronts sweep by, fresher conditions will set in.
Netweather Radar showing rain and cloud cover, with top 10 temperatures at 11am (19-20C), also lightning strikes near Pembrokeshire.
There is rain for June 1st, welcome rain for some parts of the UK after the hot, dry spell with more rain to come this week. It will still feel warm in any sunshine.
The Monday morning rain will manage to miss SE England, which has been very dry apart from some well-scattered thunderstorms. The UK is back to its more usual Atlantic influence with the jetstream surging eastwards and surface low pressures bringing unsettled conditions towards the UK and western Europe. We are no longer receiving the hot air from Spain and France, so temperatures in the westerly flow become closer to the average that you would expect in early June.
The clear, blue skies and sunshine had also helped the UK heat build in late May, but there is more cloud about this week. There will still be sunny spells coming and going, to make you feel warmer. Temperatures will peak in the high teens and low 20s Celsius, but later this week they will dip to around 14 to 16C.
Monday
It will still feel warm on Monday, away from the showers. Temperatures will be 17 to 23C. A low centre is away to the northwest with a moderate southwesterly breeze over Wales and England today. One frontal band of rain will move up to northern Scotland this afternoon, with a messy picture following on behind. There will be a good deal of cloud, outbreaks of rain with heavy showery bursts, even thunder and lightning. The radar image above showed sferics in the western approaches. The far southeast of England could miss the rain until late evening, so a fine and more comfortable day here.
Gardeners and growers will welcome the rain sweeping over Wales and then England later today. This rotates northwards over Scotland by early Tuesday, where there will be heavy rain for the north and east of mainland Scotland. Here Water Scarcity alerts are appearing. Heavy, even thundery showers will follow from south-western Britain with a wider risk across the UK, including hail by lunchtime, mixed with sunny spells. With a westerly breeze, the temperatures will yo-yo depending on any sunshine or if you are in a downpour, but the Tuesday maximums will be around 17 to 20C.
There will be fewer showers by Tuesday evening, but the rain over Grampian will continue.
By Wednesday morning, another low pressure will be approaching from the Atlantic, with frontal rain over Ireland, soon into SW Wales, with showery outbreaks for SW England. Ahead of the main frontal band, there will be zones of drier and bright weather, showers and the last of Tuesday’s rain clearing Orkney and Shetland. The frontal rain will soak Northern Ireland and Wales as many head to school and work as the band works its way northeastwards over England into southern Scotland by lunchtime. A scattering of heavy, blustery showers will follow again with the risk of thundery downpours. The southwesterly wind will freshen during the day. If you are in a sunnier spot, it will still feel warm but the day looks very mixed.
So the heatwave has ended, temperatures continue to fall away this week, and rain or showers will feature a lot in this week’s forecast.
Loading recent activity...
