After the sixth wettest July on record, when will summer return?

After the wettest July on record for Northern Ireland and a significantly wetter than average July for the rest of the UK, many of us were hopeful August would produce something a little drier and more summery - but so far that has not been the case.

The reason for it...

We started the new month with the jet stream still sitting to the south of the UK, allowing further low pressure systems to drive unsettled, wet, windy and cooler conditions to many places - the kind of weather we would normally associate with autumn rather than summer.

And with another unseasonably deep area of low pressure across the UK today the Met Office have issued weather warnings for rain, wind and thunderstorms.

How long will it continue?

Although there will be some dry and bright interludes at times, the overall picture looks set to remain unsettled with a mix of sunshine, showers and wind for the rest of the week - with another particularly deep area of low pressure crossing the UK on Saturday. 

However, there may be something a little more cheerful on the way.

Heatwave this summer?

At present there are currently no signs of a heatwave forecast for the UK, but the models are showing signs of summer returning later next week as high pressure is likely to move in from the southwest at times and the jet stream is expected to move a little further north and west.

At this stage we are not looking at endless days of hot temperatures and wall to wall sunshine but with a change in weather patterns, many parts of the UK can expect some warmer, drier and brighter conditions.

As the jet stream will still be relatively close by,  we will see some mixed weather but less frequent wet and windy conditions and much near average rainfall amounts than the above average we have seen of late.

So the weather is looking a little more promising next week... but in the meantime keep those brollies handy for now.

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