Start of June brings more rain than all of spring in parts of UK

In just over the first week of meteorological summer parts of the UK have received more rainfall than they did in the entirety of spring.

Kew Gardens in London has already recorded more than 46mm of rain so far in June. That compares to just 44.2mm throughout all of March, April and May.

In some parts of southern England there has already been more than the whole of June's expected monthly rainfall.

It comes after a very dry spring for some, with areas in southern and eastern England recording only a quarter of their average rainfall.

The UK's weather U-turn has happened because of a shift in the large-scale pattern.

High pressure led to a heatwave across much of western Europe in the latter part of May, causing numerous records to fall across the UK, France and Portugal.

In some parts of the UK, the heat spell was unprecedented with temperatures exceeding 30C for six consecutive days.

The return of a stronger jet stream has pushed the high pressure further south allowing low pressure to return, resulting in rain, heavy showers and blustery winds.

As the rain is falling in short but intense spells, totals can build quickly, which is why some of the driest parts of the country this spring are now seeing several weeks' worth of rain in just a few days.

Bournemouth has already had it's average rainfall for the whole month of June. As of Monday morning, 56mm has been recorded compared to the June average of 52mm.

Meanwhile, parts of north Wales and northern England have been slightly drier than average so far. Hawarden, north-east Wales for example has only seen 11mm of rain in the first week of June.

This rapid swing in extremes from an intense dry spell to a deluge can be called 'weather whiplash'.

According to Met Office Scientist Dr Emily Carlisle this "highlights both the natural variability of the UK's weather and the longer-term warming" being observed.

The weather for the second week of June will follow a similar pattern to the first one.

Cool Atlantic air will bring in showers or longer spells of rain and stronger winds at times.

Monday sees a band of rain clearing away to the east followed by sunny spells and showers. It will be a cool start to the week with afternoon temperatures only 14-17C (57-63F).

Tuesday and Wednesday will bring a mix of sunshine and showers. Most of the showers will be in Scotland, northern and eastern England with thunder and lightning.

Another area of low pressure deliver another spell of cloudy and wet weather on Thursday with stronger winds.

Friday will see some sunshine and blustery showers with temperatures a little higher.

Still some way ahead, but the weekend may bring drier, sunnier and warmer weather. Keep up to date with the latest forecast here.

Much of the rain in late spring and summer in southern and eastern England falls in short but intense downpours, often as convective showers and thunderstorms rather than prolonged spells.

Showers form when air warmed near the surface rises rapidly. As it collides with cooler air above, towering clouds form along with intense downpours.

Several key ingredients come together to help, such as rising sea temperatures around the UK. This adds extra moisture to the air which becomes a fuel source for developing showers.

The more water vapour available, the heavier the potential downpours possible.

At the same time, land temperatures — especially across southern and eastern England — are typically relatively high after recent sunshine.

Warm air over land rises more readily than cooler air. This sets up stronger convective currents, where air is forced upward quickly, helping to build large shower clouds.

When winds are lighter it means showers do not move on quickly. Instead, they can linger over one spot, producing large amounts of rain in a short time.

This is why rainfall totals can vary dramatically over short distances, with one town seeing torrential rain while another nearby stays dry.