Hurricane’s tail set to whip up a summer deluge

‘Particularly heavy rain’

IT has been a dismal summer, with Scots forced to squelch their way through unremitting downpours.

But things are set to get even worse this weekend – thanks to Hurricane Gert.

Remnants of the giant storm are likely to make landfall on Sunday, deluging the country with more than an inch of tropical rain and high winds.

But there is a glimmer of hope for sun-starved Scots.

A high-pressure system being dragged behind the former hurricane as it crosses the Atlantic could herald warmer, more settled conditions for the final week of August.

The summer began with the wettest June on record, followed by a soggy July. August has seen the pattern continue.

The jet stream, which has been circulating much further south than normal, has been blamed by forecasters.

While we have endured the rain, southern Europe has faced scorching heatwaves.

Nicky Maxey of the Met Office said: ‘There is an indication that once we see Gert pass through, we may start to see high pressure building over the UK.

‘Just how far north that will extend we are not quite sure. The track of high pressure will become clear once Gert passes through. But it’s beginning to look like we may look forward to warmer, more settled, conditions next week.’

Before then, Scotland will be on the receiving end of very heavy rainfall for a 24-hour period from Sunday lunchtime.

As much as an inch-and-a-half (40mm) of rain could fall in that time. Former Hurricane Gert has passed the Eastern Seaboard of the United States and will be ‘subsumed’ into a lowpressure system, already heading across the Atlantic.

While we will not be hit by a hurricane, we will experience rain and winds of up to 50mph.

Miss Maxey added: ‘It is not unusual to see this kind of trop- ical Atlantic weather system having an influence on our weather. We are not putting out any warnings as yet, which means it will not be a named storm. It is a low-pressure system but because it has been energised, it will bring particularly heavy rain, which is a bit unseasonable.

‘At the same time, the south of the UK will see more settled weather, with temperatures in the mid to high 20s.’

At the start of the summer, Edinburgh had its wettest June on record, with torrential downpours hitting the city.

Scotland-wide, the nation saw rainfall of 156mm (six inches) – 75 per cent above the average for the month.

And in July the ordeal continued with the country getting 140 per cent of its average rainfall, while areas of the West Coast saw only 77 per cent of the sunshine the area typically sees.