The Met Office has said Monday (31 August) will bring a mix of sunny spells and showers, with the potential for heavier rain and thunder, as the bank holiday weekend draws to a close. According to the forecast, Monday is expected to be the best weather of the long weekend, following days of downpours that caused flooding and disruption across parts of the UK.
Met Office senior operational meteorologist Dan Stroud said: "It's another day of sunny spells and showers, a generally bright but cloudy start with sunny spells in the east, we will have some showers from the get-go in the west and they will become a bit more heavy, the odd rumble of thunder is possible." He added: "Monday promises to be the best of the three days, still showers around but a lot less than what we've seen."
Looking ahead to Tuesday, Stroud said: "Tuesday across England and Wales promises to be reasonably fine with some lengthy sunny spells. It's a different story across Scotland. We've got a band of cloud and rain." He continued: "Wednesday, it changes, it goes downhill, turning cloudy and wet during the course of Wednesday, particularly across Wales and northern England northwards."
The weekend's weather brought significant rainfall, with Bradworthy Common in Devon recording 34.2mm of rain over 12 hours on Sunday — more than a third of the average for Devon for August, according to the Met Office. The Environment Agency issued a flood warning for Spadesbourne Brook at Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, on Sunday night, meaning flooding is expected, while 15 areas were covered by flood alerts, meaning floods are possible.
Earlier on Sunday, the Met Office issued two separate yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms, which together covered almost the whole of the UK. Heavy rain fell in Greater Manchester and surrounding areas, with torrential downpours and intense thunder and lightning reported in the city centre. Around 6pm, rainwater poured down a stairwell at Piccadilly Station, gushing onto the platform below and onto the tracks. The severe weather also forced a temporary show stop at Manchester Village Pride at Sackville Gardens.
Festivalgoers at Creamfields in Cheshire and Reading Festival in Berkshire had to contend with rain and mud throughout the weekend, wearing plastic ponchos to stay dry. At Reading, music fans donned ponchos and umbrellas, with some seen flinging mud at each other and playing in puddles, while others hid beneath their ponchos as they braved the conditions. Elsewhere, cricket at Lord's in London was halted by rain on Saturday.
The wet end to the weekend comes after a period of hot, dry weather. Months of uncharacteristically dry and hot conditions have left all of Wales and large parts of England in drought status, according to the Environment Agency, which said there have been no changes to the drought status of any areas across England. Greater Manchester, along with north east England, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire, remain in prolonged dry weather. The Met Office has previously said the UK is on course for its hottest summer on record after five heatwaves, with temperatures of up to 38.1C recorded in London.