... and it’s finally hotting up at home too

MORE than a third of a month’s rain fell in parts of Britain yesterday – but the weather will bounce back with temperatures expected to soar by the weekend.

Warm and bright conditions are expected in many areas – and it’s set to be hotter than the Greek islands.

Britain will see maximum temperatures reach 19C (66F) by Friday, 20C (68F) on Saturday and hit 22C (72F) on Sunday, the Met Office said. It compares with 20C (68F) expected on Sunday on the Greek island of Kefalonia. So far, the hottest UK temperature recorded this year was 19.4C (66.9F), in Gravesend, Kent, last Saturday.

It follows heavy rain yesterday in Yorkshire and the North East in the morning, and the South West in the afternoon.

Bramham, in West Yorkshire, recorded 24mm – almost one inch – in 12 hours to 11am, against an April average of 65mm (2.5in) in the North.

In the South West, where the average April rainfall is 79mm (3.1in), up to 25mm (1in) of rain was expected to have fallen in the six hours up to 10pm yesterday.

Met Office forecaster Nicola Maxey said: ‘We’re likely to continue with unsettled weather over the coming days, with patches of rain. But change is on the way because easterly winds will change to southerly, bringing warmer air for the weekend and into next week.’

Miss Maxey said showers remained possible into Friday, but Saturday is likely to be dry. The highest temperatures are expected on Sunday, in the South East, where the mercury could hit 22C (72F). Birmingham and Manchester may reach 19C (66F) if there are breaks in the cloud, she added.

Today is likely to be ‘rather dull and cold for most’, the Met Office said. Though parts of the country in the south and west may experience some warm sunshine, heavier rain is likely to move across central and eastern areas. On Thursday, it is set to be cloudy with some rain before the warmer and drier air moves in.

The Met Office said next week could see a return to ‘changeable’ weather with bands of showers, but added: ‘There will also be drier periods with some sunshine. Eastern areas will benefit from the driest weather, and temperatures could be rather warm.’

‘Western areas will be wetter and windier with temperatures closer to normal. By mid-week it will probably become more widely settled with some dry and sunny weather.’ The following weekend is likely to be fine and dry, but wet and windy conditions could return for most areas by the end of the month, it warned.