Heavy rain will spread in across southern England late on Wednesday, spreading north-east and likely to persist right through until late Thursday. The Met Office yellow warning for rain covers much of southern and eastern England from midnight on Wednesday night into Thursday, and through until 21:00 BST. Rainfall totals by early Thursday morning could be widely 20-30mm (around 1in), and for some places 30-50mm (up to 2in).
Low pressure moving across the south of the UK on Thursday will bring both a spell of heavy rain and areas of strong winds. The rain is expected to arrive from the southwest during Wednesday evening, before spreading northeast to many parts of England and Wales during Thursday, leading to difficult driving conditions and the risk of flooding in a few places. At the same time, winds are expected to pick up along south coastal areas in particular.
The high temperatures and fine, ­sunny days of summer have been replaced with heavy showers, blustery winds and cooler daytime temperatures. As children head back to school, there are often hopes of an Indian summer, an unseasonal return of good weather many people in Ireland call the "back-to-school weather". However, the forecast for the days and weeks ahead gives little hope for a return to summery conditions.
