Overview

• Yellow rain warnings run from 10pm Thursday to noon Friday for London, the South East, the South West and parts of South Wales, with an earlier Thursday warning for parts of South Wales.
• Forecasts highlight 10–20mm falling in under an hour and 50–70mm in a few hours near coasts, raising risks of flooding and disruption to bus and rail services.
• A deep low is set to move in on Saturday, bringing a more widespread spell of heavy rain and strong winds, with gusts in excess of 50 mph likely along coasts, headlands and high ground.
• Early September is set to stay changeable with showers or longer spells of rain and occasional thunderstorms, with the heaviest rain most likely in western areas.
• The unsettled turn follows a summer the Met Office says is almost certainly the UK’s warmest on record at a mean 16.13°C, with hosepipe bans still in place for several water companies.