Downpours return after month of rain falls in one day

Britain is set to endure more downpours today after a month's worth of rain fell in a single day.

The country had a brief respite yesterday but more wet weather will sweep in from the Atlantic overnight and most areas will have some rain today.

The great summer getaway had a soggy start on Friday, with travellers and holidaymakers facing wet roads.

Gareth Harvey, senior forecaster with MeteoGroup, said the rain did not clear East Anglia and Kent until mid-morning on Saturday - by which time Norwich, for example, had received 48mm (1.89 inches) in 24 hours. The average rainfall for the whole month of July in some East Anglian locations is only 52mm.

Mr Harvey said: "The next depression is coming in from the Atlantic. There will be rain in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and south west England by morning, and pretty much everywhere will see some rain through the course of Sunday, with only the very far north of Scotland escaping. There will be some strong winds as well."

Temperatures which reached as high as 20C on Saturday will fall to a maximum of about 18C, below average for July, today.

They are expected to rise a few degrees tomorrow, but there may still be some rain around and it will stay cool and unsettled in the following days, with no obvious sign of any return to the hot conditions which prevailed a few weeks ago and produced the hottest July day on record, on July 1.

There was then a maximum recorded temperature of 36.7C (98F), melting of roads and rail service cancellations.

Bookmaker Coral said it had cut the odds on July being the wettest on record to 2-1 (from 6-1) following reports that more rain is forecast for the rest of the month.

The firm has taken a flurry of bets on this July breaking any previous figure, while also seeing support for 2015 being the wettest year on record, which is now available at 5-2 (from 4-1).

"We've seen money come flooding in all week for July being the wettest on record as punters have obviously been keeping a close eye on weather forecasts which all suggest we are set for more rain at the back end of the month," said Coral's John Hill.

"At the start of this summer, we saw a lot of money for this year being the hottest since history books began. However, all the bets coming in now are for 2015 being the wettest on record," he added.