Low pressure sweeping in from the southwest on Tuesday (4 August) is set to end weeks of blistering sunshine for millions, with torrential downpours and thunderstorms forecast
Baking Brits will bid farewell to the blistering hot summer for at least a few hours this week, as torrential downpours will lash a handful of regions.
Using incoming data models tracked by forecasters, meteorologists noticed a low-pressure system pushing its way across the UK from the southwest.
Now new weather maps reveal exactly when fierce thunderstorms will bring an abrupt end to weeks of blistering sunshine. Most counties nationwide recorded less than 1mm of rain during July, with over half of England and all of Wales now officially declared drought zones.
Following the heatwaves, substantial downpours could be heading our way in the coming days for some regions, as weather experts have pinpointed where conditions will dramatically shift, using data supplied by meteorologists at Metdesk.
While a brief weekend dip offered a temporary cooldown, the upcoming week is bringing a surge of high humidity. This sticky, unstable airmass is expected to peak with temperatures over 30C, providing the perfect fuel to trigger isolated but violent downpours and thunderstorms.
According to Ventusky weather experts, on Tuesday (August 4), low pressure will sweep across Britain from the southwest, delivering torrential downpours to northern regions while southern areas face scattered showers.
This weather system will also usher warmer, more muggy conditions back across England and Wales, with temperatures likely climbing beyond 30C once again in some locations, the Mirror reported.
Certain areas are forecast to experience thunderstorms, with maps indicating that around 4am, parts of Northern Ireland could witness electrical activity. Cumbria and Northeast England may also encounter lightning strikes alongside heavy downpours, as low pressure blankets much of Scotland.
By 7am, the downpours will shift towards north Wales, with thunderstorms also anticipated across parts of northwest England, as per the Mirror. The wet beginning to Tuesday will affect portions of the Midlands and stretch as far south as Devon and Hampshire.
The 10am charts indicate thunderstorms could strike areas of Cumbria and once again hit Scotland as rainfall sweeps across eastern England, with regions including Berkshire and Birmingham forecast to experience some rain, according to the Mirror. Come 4pm, the storms may return across the Irish Sea, with data suggesting Belfast could be battered by thunderstorms.
“Across parts of England and Wales we’ve seen extraordinarily low totals, with some locations recording little or no meaningful rainfall for much of the month,” Met Office Scientist Dr Emily Carlisle said regarding the historic dry spell from July.
July 2026 was one of the driest July in 190 years for England and Wales.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.