Goodbye sunshine, hello wind and rain

● Sunny spell set to end as weather front brings rain and cool winds

Scotland’s spell of hot sunny weather is set to fizzle out as rain, wind and cooler temperatures are predicted over the next few days.

Most of the country has been enjoying sunshine and warmth recently, with temperatures reaching a balmy 26C yesterday.

But conditions are set to change today as a front of low pressure comes in, bringing increasing cloud, widespread showers and a risk of thunder and lightning in some places.

Forecasters say clouds will start gathering across the east from the early hours, but the worst of the rain will hit western and southern parts.

Thunder and lightning storms could also break out along with the heaviest rain.

Only the north of Scotland looks likely to escape the wet.

Temperatures are predicted to drop a few degrees, down to the high teens today and as low as 17C on Friday.

A persistent breeze will contribute to the cooler feel.

“Many parts of Scotland have been enjoying warm conditions over the past few days,” said Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge.

“That’s likely to change. We’ll see temperatures coming down. What we have is a change in the weather pattern.

“At the moment high pressure is dominating but that is pulling away and will allow a low-pressure system that’s sitting 0 Clockwise from main: Sisters five-year-old Roe and three-year-old Lucy Ward, enjoy the warm summer sun in North Berwick; People enjoy the sunshine at Luss on Loch Lomond; Paige, Eboni and Reilly burry Scott in the sand at Portabello Beach as temperatures in Scotland soared as high as 25 degrees yesterday out to the west of Scotland to take over. So from Wednesday into Thursday we’ll have a much fresher feel.”

Showers will creep into parts of western Scotland today.

“Some of those could be quite intense, possibly with some thunder and lightning,” he said.

And dreich conditions look set to continue all week and into Saturday and Sunday.

Mr Madge said downpours will never be far away, but there may be sunny spells too.

He added: “That low pres- sure will bring in weather fronts this weekend. Some of those will contain rain, heavy at times, but it’s not a complete washout.

“Although it will remain quite breezy throughout, there will be clearer periods and gaps in between those showers and we may get prolonged periods of brightness.”

High temperatures affecting rails forced emergency speed restrictions to be put in place between Stirling and Dunblane yesterday, delaying or cancelling at least 15 trains.