Cloudy outlook but Bank Holiday brings sunshine
APRIL leaves us as it began – with very little rain. If only the dry conditions of the past month had been accompanied by an abundance of strong spring sunshine, but the past week has seen early-morning frosts in some parts, and below-average temperatures.
For gardeners worrying about the absence of water to help their plants grow, the first week of May offers some encouragement, but not as much as is needed, as a stubborn high pressure over much of the UK continues to block the arrival of rain-bearing low-pressure systems from the Atlantic. And in Scotland, the dry weather has contributed to last week’s moorland wildfire near Kyle of Lochalsh in the west Highlands.
This morning, May Day, will see much of England and Wales experience a small area of lowpressure that made its way into Scotland yesterday. It will descend over the rest of the country, and may bring some showers.
What you will most likely notice, though, is the continuance of the cloud that has been such a fixture of late.
Expect 59F (15C) in London, Liverpool and Belfast, while Plymouth, Birmingham, Cardiff and Hull will be 57F (14C). The warmest part of the UK will be Scotland, once that low has gone, with 61F (16C).
There is better news for Bank Holiday Monday in England and Wales with the cloud clearing to allow blue skies in the southern two-thirds of the UK, with the mercury rising to 63F (17C). But in Scotland it will drop to 54F (12C). Still the high pressure continues to dominate in the week ahead, bringing a double whammy of too little rain but suppressed temperatures. May is getting off to a slow start.