UK weather: Met Office predicts exact date heatwave will end with heavy rain & thunderstorms on the way 

After days of basking in the scorching sun, heavy rain is expected to start this week in some parts of the UK, bringing an abrupt end to the heatwave. The Met Office said there will be outbreaks of heavy rain across the western parts, causing longer spells of rain from Monday (May 13).

This comes after Chertsey in Surrey recorded the warmest temperature of 27.5C on Sunday while 25.3C was recorded in Usk in South Wales. However, with the change of weather, the temperatures are set to dip to as low as 12C overnight this week with more rain in store.

Spells of heavy rain are also expected to hit eastern areas of Northern Ireland on Monday, with a warning in place from 12pm until 6am on Tuesday (May 14). In areas of south-west England, including Cornwall and Exeter, heavy rain is likely to bring some transport disruption and possible flooding in a few places between 8am and midnight on Monday. The same warning is in place for southern Wales on Monday, where heavy rain is forecast for areas including Swansea and Cardiff between 8am and midnight.

Met Office meteorologist Kathryn Chalk said from Monday, there will be “outbreaks of heavy rain across western parts” and the high pressure moving its way eastwards, brings with it longer spells of rain.

She added: “It will still feel pleasantly warm perhaps not as warm as what we saw over the weekend - maybe highs of up to 20C up to 24C but a different feeling day across western parts underneath all this cloud and rain as temperatures struggling at around 15C to 16C with some brisk winds.”

She said there will also be some frequent showers coming up from the south with temperatures set to dip with high temperatures of up to 20C in the coming days - with plenty more rain on the way.

According to the Met Office, Tuesday will start off largely dry and bright across the far north, with bright spells and showers across southern and western areas. Heavy rain is also expected in other parts of the country. From Wednesday, temperatures will “fall back to closer to average” with heavy showers and longer spells of rain.

And the long-range weather forecast between May 17 and May 26 indicates that unsettled conditions are likely to return after “a potentially more settled spell of weather” with above average temperatures more likely than below.