Why is it raining so much in London and when will it stop?

William Mata

22 May 2024 at 7:54 am·2-min read

Why is it raining so much in London and when will it stop?

Londoners were soaked on journeys to work and school on Wednesday (May 22) after showers that blighted Tuesday afternoon continued.

Due to flooding on Wednesday morning, some Tube trains could not stop on the London Underground at Victoria while Network Rail has issued an alert.

The capital has narrowly escaped a Met Office yellow weather for most of England, Wales, and Scotland on Wednesday and Thursday.

An amber rain warning is also in place for some of northern England, north Wales, and the Midlands, taking in Liverpool and Manchester.

Rain is still set to fall steadily in London throughout most of Wednesday, so when is it likely to stop?

A woman shelters from rain beneath a newspaper (Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)

When will the rain in London stop?

Downpours forecast for Wednesday will continue into the night before clearing up by the early hours of Thursday, the Met Office says.

Forecasters expect the end of the week to be drier and brighter.

The Met Office predicts the weekend will feel warmer, with sunshine and temperatures reaching around 21C on Saturday and Sunday.

Some light rain is predicted on Sunday evening but the spring bank holiday weekend looks largely dry.

The Met Office has said flooding and travel disruption are possible after issuing yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms and rain for much of England (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Why is it raining so much in London?

London has had a largely wet year, with the south of England experiencing its wettest February since 1836, according to Met Office data.

With the naming of Storm Kathleen, in April, the letter K was reached for only the second time since the annual storm alphabet was established in 2015.

Regarding the latest series of showers, the forecast says heavy and, in places, prolonged rainfall is expected from an area of low pressure arriving from the east. This has brought downpours to parts of central Europe.

A new Met Office study attributed the increasing number of storms to climate change.

Scientists examined the influence of human-caused climate change on strong winds and heavy rainfall from these storms, and the rainfall totals from October 2023 – March 2024.

“The scientists found that rainfall associated with storms is becoming both more intense and more likely,” the Met Office said.

“In a pre-industrial climate, rainfall from storms as intense as the 2023-24 season, had an estimated return period of 1 in 50 years.

“However, in today’s climate, with 1.2C of global warming [against industrial levels], similarly intense storm rainfall is expected to occur more often, about once every five years.

“Climate change has also increased the amount of rainfall from these storms, making them about 20 per cent more intense.”

The Met Office added that if global warming reaches 2C beyond pre-industrial levels, storm rainfall could become a further 4 per cent more intense and occur more often.

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When will the rain in London stop?

Why is it raining so much in London?

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