When will the rain end? What the Met Office is saying after heavy downpours across UK
Parts of England and Wales had 50% more rainfall than usual during a stormy January, and there has been rain every day of the year so far.
Friday 6 February 2026 16:13, UK
There is "no end in sight to the rain", forecasters have warned, despite downpours having lashed Britain every day in 2026.
A yellow rain warning is in force for the West Midlands, and parts of the south of England and Wales, running until 9pm on Friday.
Homes and businesses could flood, power supplies could be affected, and some surface water flooding is likely because of the widely saturated ground, the Met Office said.
South West England and South Wales have faced 50% more rainfall than is usual for January, with rain every day of the year so far.
Overall, England received 150% of its long-term average rainfall last month, according to the Environment Agency (EA), with the South West region seeing 184% of the long term average rainfall in January.
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In just the first three days of this month, the South East had received 32% of the long-term average rainfall for February, the EA said.
Rainfall totals varied from 13mm in England's east to 43mm in the South West for the week from 28 January to 3 February, the agency added.
And forecasters predict that the rain will still be falling daily in those areas by Sunday.
"Unfortunately, there's no end in sight," said Dan Stroud, operational meteorologist with the Met Office.
Another band of rain in the South West will travel northwards on Friday with heavy bursts, he added.
And it is more of the same on Saturday, with heavy showers lashing the south in the morning, before gradually pushing up into Wales and the Midlands.
Liz Sullivan, from Ebbw Vale in southeast Wales, said: "It's medieval. So dark and so wet. And it feels like we're moving through bogs - everything is sodden."
"It's been raining for so long. There have been dry moments on some days - but every single day this year has had rain," she said.
"I know there were a small number of dry days at the end of last year but to be honest it feels like it's been raining since October."
More rain to come - and it could get colder
So far, February is continuing where January left off - grey and wet. Cornwall had its wettest January on record and other parts of the British Isles weren't far behind. If you feel the rain has been relentless, you'd be right. Many places, including Exeter Airport, have recorded rainfall every single day this year.
And all that cloud means very little sunshine, adding to the gloomy feel. Aberdeen went nearly two weeks without a glimmer of brightness, and at the moment eastern Scotland has recorded just 1% of their monthly sunshine for February.
In just the first five days of February, the city of Aberdeen has also recorded more than their usual monthly rainfall. And the Isle of Wight isn't far behind, currently at 97% of their February rainfall and rising. For context, you would expect them to be around 18% at this stage of the month.
So what's going on? The culprit, as it often the case with our weather, is the jet stream. This fast-moving ribbon of air high in our atmosphere steers areas of low pressure around on the ground.
Instead of flowing nicely from west to east, it's currently meandering down to the south and this wavy jet has led to blocked weather patterns. Scandinavia is under a large area of high pressure, with settled and largely dry conditions, but we've been stuck with low after low, and a dominant southeasterly airflow has sent bands of showery rain northwards across the country.
The jet stream's southerly position has also meant a lot more rain across southern parts of the UK. It turns out northwest Scotland has been quietly enjoying the best of the dry and bright weather.
When is it going to improve? There will be some drier and brighter spells between the rainbands but the overall unsettled outlook continues right into next month, not good news for those places already struggling.
Until the weather pattern "unblocks", there is more rain to come. And things could turn colder with a risk of wintry hazards towards the end of next week.
If it's any consolation, we're not alone with these exceptional rainfall totals. A succession of storms has battered Iberia, with Storm Marta the latest to affect Portugal, Spain and Gibraltar this weekend, following on a very wet January which saw some places receive three times the normal rainfall.
The southern and western parts of the UK will see yet another band of rain arrive on Sunday, it is predicted, though it should be slightly drier elsewhere.
Northern Ireland is also subject to a yellow rain warning until midnight on Friday.
While in Scotland, persistent cloud and rain will continue to affect the east of the country, including Aberdeen.
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The city has seen no sunshine for two weeks - a record-setting period of gloom unrivalled in the area since records began in 1957.
Yet parts of East Anglia, the South East and perhaps west Scotland could see some brightness breaking through on Saturday.
Mr Stroud said: "Very little in the way of change, and the reason for it really is that we've got a big area of high pressure way out to the far north and east of the country, and that's stopping areas of low pressure from moving through.
"Until that area of high pressure sort of shifts out of the way, we're not really going to see much of a change in the forecast.
"At the same time, we've got the jet stream way to the south, bringing exceptional wet weather to Spain and Portugal."
According to the yellow warning covering South West England and parts of Wales, up to 50mm of rain is predicted in higher places, with downpours of 30mm being widespread.
Higher places in Northern Ireland could face up to 80mm of rain, but 20mm is expected in the majority of places.