All 15 areas set to be hit by 320-mile rain band revealed as cold blast returns

A deluge of rain is set to paint more than 320 miles of land this week as a band works its way across the country, hitting potentially dozens of regions.

Conditions across the UK have recently departed from the stunning record-setting wall-to-wall sunshine seen during the first two weeks of May, which saw temperatures reach nearly 30C, falling by more than half in some portions of the country. 

With the dip has come intense and occasionally rainfall which now looks set to continue over the last week. New maps have outlined exactly which areas are most likely to bear the brunt of the dramatic reversal.

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The latest maps from WXCharts, a forecasting service that images data taken from MetDesk, show the 320-mile band of rain stretching from Devon to Lancashire in a dramatic sweep spanning nearly the entire western half of England.

According to the service, up to 15 regions will see rainfall for two straight days between Friday, May 23 and Saturday, May 24. They include Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumberland, Westmorland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon, Dorset, Cornwall, and, possibly, parts of the West Midlands.

Brits can expect more of the same into early June, the predicts, with the agency anticipating a "change in type" to "more unsettled conditions".

The forecast covering Thursday May 22 to Sunday June 1 states that the rain could turn "heavy and thundery" as the country officially enters meterological summer. It says: "As we head into the bank holiday weekend and following week, a change in weather type is expected. More unsettled conditions are likely to develop, with weather systems moving in from the Atlantic.

"The change is likely to happen first in the northwest, probably later on Friday or through Saturday. This will see frontal systems bringing spells of rain, perhaps heavy at times, with a risk of strong winds in places, and these conditions will gradually spread across the UK as we go through the weekend.

"Drier and brighter intervals are likely between systems but with showers, some of which could be heavy/thundery. Temperatures will probably be close to average, perhaps slightly above at times, but will feel fairly cool in the often strong winds."

The more distant forecast, covering June 2 to 16, is less clear but suggests more of the same, with more "changeable weather conditions as we head into June". It adds: "Overall, it will likely be wetter in the west and drier in the east. Temperatures will probably average out around normal, although some very warm or even hot spells are still possible, as normal for the time of year.