Brollies ready as rain is here to stay

It is meant to be the height of summer – but forecasters today warned that the cool, wet conditions are set to stay for weeks to come.

Troublesome jet streams are being blamed for the prolonged unsettled spell that brought chaos to outdoor events over the weekend. The streams, fast-flowing winds in the upper atmosphere, have again moved south, dragging down unsettled weather that would normally stay north of Britain. The same conditions brought the heavy floods to the West Midlands and Staffordshire last year.

This time round the effect is less dramatic, but it means there is no end in sight to the soggy summer.

Temperatures in the West Midlands limped to 20C (68F) on Saturday, but fell to around 18C (64F) yesterday as around a third of an inch of rain fell in 24 hours.

At least it was good news for some – indoor play areas were full to capacity as parents looked for somewhere to take their children.

Phillipa Barnes, national forecaster with the Met Office, said: "There were a lot of heavy showers around the West Midlands but they were moving through quite quickly so the total rainfall wasn't too great."

She warned that the weekend's weather had set the tone for the rest of the summer, with many cool and cloudy days to come. "Unfortunately it looks like it's going to stay unsettled.

"There's no indications of any long, dry and hot spells."

Jon Skelding, manager of Scallywags indoor play centre in the Merry Hill Centre, said: "We definitely noticed an increase in numbers.

"The admissions doubled this weekend and we had about 250 kids in."

Jane James, of Wolverhampton's Bantock House, said: "There's definitely a dip in visitor numbers when the weather is unpredictable."