Europe may be sizzling but here in Aylesbury Vale the rainy spell looks set to continue this week

Unseasonably strong winds affected large parts of the UK on Saturday, including Aylesbury Vale, thanks to a deep area of low pressure that moved in from the Atlantic on Friday, slowly pushing eastwards during the weekend. The low pressure in question was also responsible for heavy and persistent rain in northern and western areas on Friday, and frequent heavy showers on Saturday and Sunday.

The strongest of the winds developed across south-west England and Wales during Saturday morning, transferring eastwards through the course of the afternoon. A number of official weather stations recorded some of the strongest wind gusts for the month of July. Benson in Oxfordshire reported a gust of 48mph.

The very turbulent weather at the weekend follows what has been a disappointingly changeable and wet July so far in Aylesbury Vale and for the majority of the UK. Many northern and western areas have already seen higher than average rainfall for this point in the month, with several locations in Scotland and Northern Ireland having the wettest first 15 days for over 20 years.

In contrast, large parts of southern Europe are in the grip of an intense and dangerous heatwave, with temperatures across Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans in excess of 40C.

Closer to home in Aylesbury Vale, the weather is set to stay on the unsettled side through the remainder of this week, with low pressure bringing further showers or longer spells of rain at times. Temperatures will remain close to or just below the seasonal average.