Britain’s dry spell set to be punctured by 24-hour deluge as parts of UK brace for rain and thunder

Nathan Rao
Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:06:56 +0000

Britain’s dry spell will be punctured by a 24-hour stormy deluge as parts of the country brace for torrential rain and thunder.

A sharp U-turn today will drench eastern counties with more than an inch of rain as chilly winds plumet temperatures.

The messy interlude will target largely North Sea coasts while the rest of the country escapes with dry sunshine.

The culprit, once again, is an unruly jet stream ploughing the UK’s eastern flank carrying a corridor of rain.

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Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “On Monday, things get a little bit tricky, and down the east side of the UK, a flow comes through with the jet stream helping to bring some wet weather.

“Different models are doing different things, but the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model has a much wetter picture for Monday, with some heavy, perhaps thundery, rain.

“Down the eastern side of the UK, some places could see 20mm or 30mm of rain, so there is a reasonable chance that Monday will be much more unsettled than recently.”

The downpours will come after an unusually dry April delivered almost a month of rainless skies.

The jet stream has shifted unusually far north, allowing high pressure to build in its wake.

This "anticyclonic" pattern has kept rainfall at bay through the past weeks and pushed the mercury well above where it should be for mid-spring.

After today’s deluge, it will re-strengthen to bring more dry weather through the last few days of the month.

But change is on the way with the start of May bringing the threat of more sustained rainfall.

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Mr Burkill said: “We then see a change to something drier, with high pressure and dry air, and high pressure will be firmly in control on the whole with it looking largely fine.

“This week is going to be very dry after Monday, and there is a lot of dry weather to come, but into the start of May, it may be a little bit wetter than average.

“And it may be a little cooler, and it does look as though it is not going to be as sunny or as warm.”

Long-range forecasters agree this week could bring the end of the dry spell with April showers shunted into May.

A change from high pressure dominating to low pressure nudging through will drive the change, they warn.

Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services and co-author of ‘Surviving Extreme Weather’, said: “The general pattern is for showers to take over from the dry weather, particularly in the south.

“There will be a risk of thundery showers on Monday, and then again at the end of the week which brings a more significant transition.”

Despite the less favourable outlook, bookies are still hedging on next month sizzling into the record books.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "Record-breaking May sunshine could well be on the cards, if the latest odds are anything to go by."

A Met Office spokesman added: “The forecast suggests largely settled conditions will continue through the rest of April, with only limited opportunities for rain.

“A few weak weather fronts may brush western or northern areas at times, bringing cloud and occasional light rain, but for many parts of the UK rainfall totals are expected to remain low.”