Wednesday 26th August
Considerable warmth returned on Tuesday due to a very sunny morning that lifted the temperature to a peak of 25.3C at 14.37 before cloudier conditions arrive after 13.00 that resulted in reduced sunshine. The high was 3.7C above average making it the warmest day since the 17th. There was considerable cloud overnight that limited the loss of warmth into the atmosphere thus a low of 14.8C was 3.0C above average, logged at 05.56, just before sunrise in Marlborough at 06.09.
Wednesday began with muted sunshine due to a weak front and its associated cloud crossing our area during the early hours, that produced 0.6mm overnight taking the monthly rainfall total to just 6.0mm. A light shower triggered the automatic rain gauge at 00.30 and again at 01.21. A line of showers were seen developing on the radar at 07.20 over the Trowbridge area and moving northwards, just to the west of our area but no indication of other activity to the south.
The breeze today will be lighter but there is a significant change in wind direction, from east to southeast, which is likely to mean a very warm day again today as it is drawing warmth from the Continent but additionally an increase in humidity. The disturbed air could well produce thunderstorms as indicated by the warning issued by the Met Office yesterday that might arrive over southern England later today and especially tomorrow.
A complex area of low pressure systems will dominate our weather over the next few days as the centre traverses our country heading northeastwards towards the North Sea. However, the forecast pressure charts indicate that another depression will arrive front the Atlantic and be overhead on Saturday.
Deep Dive: Why thunderstorms are finally returning to the UK
Author: Met Office
Tue, 25 Aug 2026
For weeks, people across England and Wales have been asking the same question: where is the rain?
Many have also been wondering why a summer that has delivered heat and humidity has produced relatively few thunderstorms.
As we enter the final week of meteorological summer, the answer is finally changing. A significant shift in the atmosphere is underway, bringing the potential for heavy rain, thunderstorms and localised flooding across parts of the UK. While many areas have been in need of rainfall, the concern now is that some places could receive too much rain in a short period of time.
Why has this summer been so quiet for thunderstorms?
At first glance, the lack of thunderstorms this summer may seem surprising. After all, parts of the UK have experienced prolonged warm and humid conditions.
The missing ingredient has been the wider atmospheric pattern. Throughout much of June, July and August, high pressure has dominated not only at the surface but also higher up in the atmosphere. This has acted to suppress rising air and prevent thunderstorms from developing, even when temperatures and humidity were high.
At the same time, the jet stream has spent much of the summer further north than usual, leaving the UK beneath a persistent ridge of high pressure. Sinking air associated with this pattern has helped maintain settled weather and restricted storm development.
This week, that pattern is changing