After the cold, get set for downpours

FOLLOWING glorious Easter sunshine, Britons were let down by one of the chilliest starts to the May bank holiday on record yesterday.

But things are about to go from bad to worse – with strong winds and heavy rain set to batter the country this week.

Unsettled conditions over the weekend – which saw a spinning funnel cloud descend over Blackpool on Sunday –were capped off by temperatures as low as -2.4C (28F) in Cumbria yesterday morning, while Devon and Wales both recorded -1.7C (29F).

The record low for the early May bank holiday was set in 2012, when Kinbrace in northern Scotland saw temperatures plunge to -5.9C (21F).

In brighter news, however, forecasters are predicting an ‘early taste of summer’ by the middle of the month.

Met Office forecaster Mark Wilson said there would be ‘significant change’ from today – but not for the better.

He said: ‘A band of cloud and rain spreads in from the West and moves eastwards on Tuesday, bringing a change to more unsettled conditions from mid-week.

‘There is going to be quite a bit of rain around and it will be quite windy at times, especially in the North.

‘Elsewhere we are looking at heavy thundery showers across much of England and Wales and it will be very windy at times, particularly along coastal regions. This will need to be watched in terms of issuing any warnings.’

He added: ‘A complicated area of low pressure comes in from the West around midweek, bringing much of the unsettled weather before another low skirts the UK towards the end of the week.’

The polar air which left the country shivering this weekend started to drift away yesterday, meaning temperatures should rise up to 17C (63F) in the South by the weekend.

A funnel cloud is a rotating column of wind that extends from the base of a cloud without reaching the ground – at which point it would be classed as a tornado. The clouds form due to unstable conditions in the atmosphere.