Hurricane Gert set to hammer the north

The remnants of Hurricane Gert could divide the country in two by sweeping in to salvage summer for the south but soak the north, according to forecasters.

August’s patchy weather so far will continue for those in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the North of England as the category two hurricane loses strength over the Atlantic Ocean as it rides in on the jet stream.

But for those in southern and eastern parts of the UK, temperatures could soar as the weather system bringing tropical air arrives on Sunday, with the mercury forecast to reach up to 27C in the south east on Monday.

Hurricane Gert, the second hurricane of the season in the Atlantic, is travelling along the eastern coast of the US.

It is expected to move eastwards and become a low pressure system with its centre somewhere between Iceland and northern Scotland, Met Office forecaster Luke Miall said. He said: “At the moment we might see a bit of a Northsouth split developing. The wet and windy weather will most likely be to the north and west, so Scotland, Northern Ireland, north west England and North Wales will have a wet and windy weekend.”