Sunny forecast for today but heavy rain and possible storms next week
BRITONS COULD be soaking up the sun in the coming days, before rain and thundery showers take over.
If you have not had your first barbecue of the year yet, then today may be the day.
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern suggests it could be “16-19C widely – with 24C the possible high in the South-East and that would make it the warmest day of the year so far”.
He also said “that warm air as it arrives is likely to spark a few heavy showers”.
Yorkshire may record 21C today and it should be dry and bright. Tomorrow it is forecast to be bright at first, but cloudier with showers later in the region and cloudier and cooler on Monday and Tuesday, with strengthening winds and outbreaks of occasionally heavy rain.
Mr McGivern said: “By Saturday evening, showers will be making an appearance into the SouthWest, spreading quite widely into southern parts of England and South Wales.
“For central and southern England and the South coast there is the risk of some heavy downpours, thunderstorms and frequent lightning.”
This all comes after a cool start to the day today followed by temperature rises.
It is looking like “a fine afternoon”, according to Mr McGivern – who described the prospect of “sunshine up and down” from the north of Scotland to the south of England, with just some patchy cloud in the north and west.
The Met Office says that warm air originally from North Africa will bring above-average temperatures for May to most places in the UK over the next week, but it will be broken up with potentially heavy or thundery showers.
Parts of the South-East could potentially reach top temperatures for the week of 25C27C.
Met Offices spokesman Richard Miles said “at the moment Tuesday looks like being the warmest day of the week”.
Throughout the week, some people may be able to enjoy the warm dry sunny spells, but heavy showers are set to move across the whole of the country, particularly in the North and West.
These might be thundery at times in parts of the South, central England and South-West Scotland.