There’s no sign of a let-up in the wet weather this May
It is not enough to have frost in May. Now there has been sufficient snow to see skiers on the slopes of Helvellyn in Cumbria, with members of the 85-year-old Lake District Ski Club allowed a quick hurrah after being closed all winter because of lockdown.
So far, this May seems to have been doing its very best to compensate for all the rain we missed out on in April.
If there is a single word to sum up the next seven days, it is “wet”. Today, though, is the exception, especially in eastern and south-eastern parts. Mild air from the south will benefit Kent, London and East Anglia. Accompanied by sunshine, it could see temperatures up at 21C (70F). Further west, the airflow is from the Atlantic and therefore fresher, with 17C (63F) in Cardiff, 14C (57F) in Belfast and Plymouth and 15C (59F) in Glasgow.
There is a risk everywhere of showers, but in the west they are more likely to turn into longer spells of rain.
Dominating things is a low pressure system in the Atlantic, and it isn’t going anywhere fast. So tomorrow and Tuesday will see more of the same, with showers and rain in the west and showers and sun in the east.
However, the moderating influence of that warm air from the south is weakening, meaning that the mercury will dip, even in the most favoured places, to more like 16C (61F).
Things are not looking much better for the back end of the week and even next weekend, as May focuses its energies on watering the gardens and fields to the detriment of those of us trying to have an evening out in a pub beer garden or on a restaurant’s outdoor terrace. Relief is at hand – not from the weather, but from being able to go indoors from May 17.