UK heatwave ends as cooler temperatures and rain forecast

Cooler temperatures and outbreaks of rain are forecast across much of the UK from Sunday, as a spell of unseasonably hot weather comes to an end.

Days of heatwave conditions were recorded in parts of the UK throughout the week – peaking with a new May record temperature of 35.1C (95.2F) in London on Tuesday.

Cooler and fresher Atlantic air on Sunday pushed the temperature down to 24C, after it reached 30C on Saturday.

As the UK heads into the start of meteorological summer, temperatures will be lower still in the first few days of June.

Instead of a “heat dome” – where an area of high pressure gets “stuck”, trapping warm air underneath – areas of low pressure will be steered across the UK by a stronger jet stream. This will bring more unsettled weather and rain at times.

That rain will develop in most parts of the country on Monday and may be heavy at times in the west of the UK.

Heading into Tuesday, a mix of sunshine and heavy showers are forecast, which could be accompanied by thunder and lightning.

Wet weather will be welcomed by many gardeners and growers, particularly in southern and eastern England where it has been a very dry few months.

More rain will arrive on Wednesday and with stronger winds it will feel cooler. By this time, maximum temperatures will range from 15-20C, a far cry from the late May heat.

For two days in a row, both England and Wales registered their hottest May days on record, while heatwave conditions were also met in several areas.

The record-breaking temperatures came on Tuesday with 35.1C at London’s Kew Gardens and 32.9C at Cardiff’s Bute Park.

Both amber and yellow heat health alerts were issued by the UK Health Security Agency for much of England.

At least 14 people have died during the hot weather after getting into difficulties in water.

That figure included a 15-year-old girl who died in hospital on Saturday after getting into difficulty in the sea off the Merseyside coast on Monday.

A 19-year-old man also died on Saturday after being recovered from a lake in Nottinghamshire earlier in the week, while a body was found in the search for a man who went into water in the Norfolk Broads.

People also died in Kent, Oxfordshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Hampshire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Cornwall, as well as in north east Scotland and Pembrokeshire in Wales.

Separately on Sunday, emergency services in Yorkshire said a search was under way for an 11-year-old boy who was last seen entering the River Don in Mexborough.

The multiple incidents prompted fresh warnings around the dangers of swimming in open water, particularly for children.

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