Heavy showers and thunder for the rest of the week

Heavy showers and thunder interspersed with bright and sunny spells is in store for Rochdale this week.

Temperatures will also be cooler than of late in the late teens/early twenties centigrade, close to the average for the time of year.

The weather will generally be much more unsettled, with showers or longer spells of rain.

The Met office says August looks like continuing in this cooler and more unsettled theme, although there will still be some spells of warm sunshine.

However, weather forecasting beyond about a week ahead stretches even the most experienced weather forecaster. Complex numerical weather forecast models from the Met Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) are run many times for the month (and season) ahead to build up a picture of the likelihood of different weather types affecting the UK.