A touch of frost in May before rain returns to gardens
THIS April just gone had more frost than anything we have seen for 60 years, and it will continue into this Bank Holiday Sunday. Some of us will wake up this morning to the rare phenomenon of frost in May. But catch it while it lasts. The plunge of cold Arctic air that has taken up residence over the UK this past week will give way to rain clouds tomorrow.
The cold, frosty air as we open the curtains will give way to sunshine and bright blue skies, as has been the pattern of late. By afternoon, though, there may be a few showers, and the occasional wintry downpour over the Scottish hills. Temperatures will be better in the more sheltered west, while the North Sea coast will get the worst of the Arctic breeze. The sweet spot for a Sunday stroll in the sun is South Wales at 59F (15C), with London managing 57F (14C), Liverpool 55F (13C), Norwich and Hull 54F (12C) and Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast 52F (11C).
But what you gain on the Bank Holiday weekend swings, you lose on the roundabouts. Tomorrow, South Wales and much of western England is in the front line as a deep area of low pressure rattles in from the Atlantic, the first of its kind for a good long while, bringing wet and windy conditions from early on in the day.
Over in the east, after another chilly start, the sun will be back, but only until the afternoon, by which stage the storm clouds and 40mph gusts will have made their way cross-country.
What is causing the switch is a reinvigorated Jet Stream, that ribbon of air currents in the high atmosphere that blows west to east across the Atlantic. Its arrival will bring plenty more rain in the week ahead to the delight of gardeners.