UK weather: When will it rain next?

If you cannot remember the last time it rained, you are probably not alone.

June was actually wetter than average in the UK, which might come as a surprise given our recent run of weather, but for England and Wales the majority of that rain came down in the first two weeks of the month.

Since 15 June, most of England has recorded less than 10mm of rain with large areas of central southern England seeing 3mm or less. Meanwhile, Wisley in Surrey has had no rain at all for 36 consecutive days.

Most of Wales has seen less than 25mm (1in) of rain since the middle of June, but it has been particularly dry in the north-east with Rhyl in Denbighshire recording only 3mm.

A Thames Water hosepipe ban came into force on Thursday, adding to other bans already in place for customers of other water companies across the south of the UK, as parts of southern, central and eastern England were declared to be close to drought.

Northern Ireland had a very wet June, recording 67% more rain than average, and it was also very wet in western Scotland. However, July has been much drier than average in Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, though the rain has continued in the Highlands, with Aultbea already reaching the July average rainfall, and with more on the way.