Pouring cold water on golden August memories
SUMMER memories are particularly prone to be golden. “We don’t get the long hot summers we used to have when I was a child,” plenty of us are heard to complain. It is as if we all spent our school holiday running through sun-soaked corn fields like a young Theresa May.
But the statistics, I’m afraid, tell another story. August has always had its fair share of rain – two to three inches across the country. What is new, though, is when our whole ration of rain falls in 24 hours, as happened in the South East last week. Then, not content with emptying a full bucket over our heads, it carried on doing it.
This weekend will be a brief respite for most, with a gradual improvement taking place. The breeze will switch from a chilly north-westerly to something more straightforwardly westerly and mild. There could still be an overnight nip in the air as you head for church, or to buy the papers, but as the day goes on a ridge of high pressure from the south-west will build, all but banishing the rain and bringing pleasant enough temperatures – in London 70F (21C), but hardly hot in Glasgow at 61F (16C).
The low pressure is back soon enough, with a band of rain and cooler temperatures heading into the north and west of the UK overnight as Sunday turns into Monday. That means the south and east should continue to enjoy the good(ish) weather all through Monday but by Tuesday sunny spells and heavy showers will have returned.
All is not lost. Another ridge will creep in midweek, warming us up again, but how long it will last is as yet unclear. So make the most of the sun while you can.