Britain is bracing itself for one of the wettest summers on record – with forecasters predicting there could be at least 50 days of rain in just three months.
The Government has reportedly been prepped by the Met Office to expect soggy conditions between June and the end of August, with wet weather 50 per cent more likely than average.
The bleak forecast threatens to interrupt a number of summer events, including Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix, the Trooping of the Colour, Royal Ascot, Henley and music festivals such as Glastonbury.
If forecasters are correct, it could be the dampest summer since 1912 – when rain fell on 55 days across the summer season, The Sun reports.
The Met Office long-range forecast said: ‘The chances of a wetter-than-average period are higher than a drier-than-average one.
People are seen wadding back to their homes in Wynyard, County Durham, on Bank Holiday Monday
Members of the public shelter under umbrellas the RHS Chelsea Flower Show at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London last week
‘Rainfall at this time of year has a greater risk of localised heavy downpours and thunderstorms.’
Low pressure systems have been blamed by forecasters as the reason for the wet summer.
It comes after the Met Office revealed April was the sixth wettest since records dating to 1836.
In all, there was 55 per cent more rainfall than the long term average, the forecasting body said.
Last year was also a summer washout, with showers striking on 40 days. There has to be 2.5mm of rain within 24 hours for it to be classed as a rainy day.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend, Brits were hit with similarly unsettled weather as sunny spells were interrupted by showers.
Some areas saw extremely heavy rain, including Wynyard, County Durham, which experienced flooding.
The unsettled weather is set to last all week, with the southwest of the UK set for patchy rain on Monday night.
Roads in the Romford area in the London Borough of Havering were flooded last week
Weather Commuters attempt to shelter from the rain as they cross London Bridge during rainy weather last week
Motorists navigate through wet conditions on the M5 northbound last week
Commuters stand in the pouring rain as they wait for trains in Greenwich, south east London, last week
A dog wrapped up in a full length coat as protection from the pouring rain last week
A flooded field in Warwickshire last week. Britain is set to face yet another miserable summer of rain
On Tuesday, Brits living in the north and east are set for a bright start, though cloud and rain across the southwest could move northwards during the day.
For the rest of the week, there will be a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers – some of which will be heavy, with hail and thunder, according to the Met Office.
Despite the rain threatening to ruin the Bank Holiday weekends, the sunny spells enabled families to flock to beauty spots including Durdle Door on Monday.
Families and groups of friends packed out the popular spot on the Jurassic Coast, basking in the sunshine and going for a dip in the sea.
Others made the most of the intermittent spells of sun by flocking to Cullercoats Bay in North Tyneside, while the annual cheese rolling festival in Gloucester attracted hundreds of dairy-loving thrill-seekers.
Families also faced having their Bank Holiday plans ruined after trains were suspended, ferry passengers faced two-hour waits and more than three million drivers hit the roads.