Bank Holiday washout as month’s rain falls in a day (but some got wetter than others)
BANK Holiday Monday was a thundery washout in parts of southern England – but the North basked in warm sunshine.
In south-west England four times as much rain fell in 30 hours from Sunday to yesterday afternoon as was seen in the first 26 days of April.
An initial band of rain was followed by heavy showers across the South, including thunder.
By contrast northern cities such as Manchester and Leeds experienced warm spring sunshine with temperatures up to 17C (63F) in the afternoon. The Midlands also enjoyed sunny spells, although slightly cooler temperatures.
In Scotland students at the University of St Andrews celebrated May Day with a dawn dip in the North Sea, a tradition reputed to bring them good luck in their exams.
As people return to work today, the settled weather experienced further north over the weekend is set to drift south. Over the next few days, areas
‘Joint warmest on record’
across central England and Wales, as well as the North, will experience sunny spells and temperatures of 15-16C (5961F) as an area of high pressure dominates. Temperatures are unlikely to increase further because the high pressure is centred over Scandinavia, where the air is still cool.
However, the South of England, East Anglia and parts of the east coast will be cloudy and, in some cases, experience patchy rain.
Met Office forecaster Emma Salter said: ‘ Yesterday, a weather system brought an initial spell of rain, particularly for southwest England.
‘In Exeter, over 30 hours on Sunday and into yesterday, 40mm (1.57inches) of rain fell. This compares with an average of 9.2mm across southern England from the start of April up until the 26th. The April average is 55mm.’
Miss Salter said the parched April followed an October to March period which was the driest since the same period in 1995-6. March itself was the joint warmest on record, along with 1910, in East Anglia.
She said the outlook for the coming few days would be largely fine and dry because the high pressure will be keeping areas of low pressure and associated frontal systems away from the British Isles. Temperatures are unlikely to beat the record high for the year so far, of 25.5C (78F) recorded on April 9 in Cambridge.
Miss Salter added: ‘ The location of the high pressure also means air will be drawn inland off the sea bringing cloud to parts of the south-east and east coast, with the possibility of some rain.’