Flood warnings and weather alerts remain in place across England as the fallout from record downpours continues - but forecasters are predicting that a dryer spell may be on its way.
The Environmental Agency (EA) has 13 flood warnings in place and a further 62 flood alerts.
Eight of the warnings apply to the Midlands, three to the Anglian region and another two in the South West region.
Some 28 weather warnings and alerts have been removed within the past 24 hours.
Sunday is St Swithin’s Day and legend has it that if it rains, the poor weather will continue for a consecutive 40 days.
But forecasters expect that Sunday will mark the beginning of a dryer spell.
While there may be light showers across England on Sunday, they are unlikely to develop into heavy precipitation.
Consistent cloud cover is expected for Monday, with some rain across parts of the country.
Temperatures are then expected to rise on Tuesday, however the northern half of the UK should see further heavy showers on Wednesday, with up to 40mm falling in some places.
Forecaster Brendan Jones said that over the next 10 days the weather will start to change for the better, with the chances of extended of dry, sunny weather increasing.
"The lack of rain should give the water levels a chance to reduce and there will be the occasional sunny spells, but nowhere is going to get temperatures above 20C, which is still pretty disappointing for summer,” Mr Jones said.
An end to the persistent wet weather would bring welcome relief to thousands of people who have been suffering as drainage systems and river catchments struggle to cope with record-breaking deluges.
This year has seen the wettest April to June period on record, followed by even more heavy rain so far this month.
