UK facing 'most changeable week' of weather since June - as water company imposes first hosepipe ban in 50 years

The UK will face the "most changeable week" of weather since June, as temperatures fall following weeks of hot and dry conditions.

The Met Office said rain, and possibly thunderstorms, would come to much of Britain after the latest heatwave caused temperatures to soar as high as 38C last week.

Following the recent spell of hot weather, Wessex Water became the latest water firm to announce a hosepipe ban on Monday, with the measure coming into effect from midnight on Tuesday.

The restrictions, impacting Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire, mark the first time the supplier has imposed a ban in 50 years, and affects all 1.4 million of its customers.

The cooler weather comes as a jet stream of air in the country's north that allowed high pressure to dominate, resulting in last week's excessively hot conditions, travels south, the forecaster said.

This shift will cause low pressure to dominate and drift southwards, resulting in an unsettled outlook in the middle of the week and temperatures to fall as the wind switches to a northerly direction.

The temperature will slip into single digits in some locations, including in the Brecon Beacons in Wales, where lows of 6C are forecasted for the early hours of Saturday, and South Newington in the Cotswolds, where a low of 8C is predicted.

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Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: "I can't promise rain for all of us through the week ahead, but in the south at least, it's looking like the most changeable week we've seen here - well at least since the end of June."

Mr Morgan said Britons will see some "quite menacing skies" with "dark clouds one moment and some sunshine the next".

Rain is expected in Northern Ireland and western Scotland on Monday, with some more showers in England's South East early in the day.

Some parts of the country, especially in the South West, will see temperatures well into the 20s, including predicted highs of 28C and 26C in London and Southampton respectively.

UK wildfires - follow latest

More rain is forecasted for Tuesday, with the UK's north and central regions warned to expect a wet start to the day, with the showers moving "erratically" southwards throughout the day.

Wednesday will be dry in the south of the UK, but there will be a mix of sunshine and rain in the rest of the country.

Showers will become more widespread and heavier from Thursday, with a chance of thunderstorms.

The UK faced heatwave conditions last week, with the temperature hitting 38.1C in Kew Gardens, west London, last Thursday - making it the hottest day of the year so far.

Wildfires have ravaged parts of the UK, including the West Midlands, where a blaze in Stourbridge destroyed 19 homes.

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West Midlands Fire Service said they had been able to lift cordons as households who had been evacuated started returning to their homes over the weekend.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service also responded to "significant wildfire activity" on Sunday, with crews attending 14 blazes.

About 200 military personnel and crews from London, Greater Manchester, Cumbria, and Bedfordshire were deployed to the region to assist firefighting efforts.

Millions of people in England and Wales received an alert on their mobile devices warning them of a "very high risk of wildfires nationally" on Friday.

The alert came after Prime Minister Andy Burnham described Britain as a "tinderbox" and put in place a temporary ban on disposable barbecues.

Fire services across the country have reported high levels of demand, including South Wales Fire and Rescue Service which said on Saturday it had received 736 calls compared with an average of about 300.

The hot weather has seen hose pipe bans imposed across the country, including from Thames Water, Southern Water and Anglian Water.

(c) Sky News 2026: UK facing 'most changeable week' of weather since June - as water company imposes first hosepipe ban in 50