Storm conditions are expected to ease over the bank holiday weekend with some areas seeing highs of 23C, the Met Office has said – but more rain and thunderstorms are on the way.
Forecasters say all regions of the UK will see some dry spells over the weekend, with the sunniest and driest periods coming on Saturday.
It comes after downpours caused flooding chaos in areas including the north of England this week, with Carlisle in Cumbria seeing 88mm of rain in 48 hours. The average for May is 55mm across the whole month.
Saturday evening is expected to bring some showers in southern Wales, the South West and Cornwall, and these are then expected to push northwards on Sunday.
Sunday will see more cloudy conditions and outbreaks of rain – with the north west of England and the southern parts of Wales potentially seeing thunderstorms.
Forecasters say all regions of the UK will see some dry spells over the weekend, with the sunniest and driest periods coming on Saturday
A sea of umbrellas on the Royal Mile as shoppers and visitors brave heavy rain, which is affecting much of Scotland
Flooding following heavy rain on Wednesday in Loftus, North Yorkshire.
ow lying dark clouds over the farmers fields in Dunsden, Oxfordshire
Met Office meteorologist Amy Bokota said after this past week’s heavy rainfall, conditions will improve over the bank holiday.
She told the PA news agency: ‘The low pressure is expected to east away on Friday. It will be a touch cooler than the last couple days and parts of the north east and Scotland will see showers. On the whole it is an improved picture.
‘Things will improve as we head into Saturday morning. Wind will ease and it will be a pretty good day across the board.
‘Scotland will see a few showers but the bulk of the UK will see brighter spells. The best will be 22-23C across the south of England and London.’
But she added: ‘It will stay unsettled through bank holiday Monday. There will be further showers in parts of Scotland, the north east of England and Northern Ireland.
‘The best weather will be in the very far south west of the UK and southern England. Elsewhere will see heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms. It will then stay quite unsettled into the next week.
‘On the whole, there are no major watchpoints for flooding. While it is expected to rain, this will move quicker and won’t be the same persistent heavy rain we’ve had in the last couple of days.’
Avanti West Coast cancelled services between Preston and Scotland today after the River Caldew burst its banks and flooded tracks at Carlisle, blocking the West Coast Main Line
Muddy conditions in the Oxfordshire countryside this morning after heavy rain at Dunsden
Leah Harrison, 10, from Darlington, died in a mudslide on a school trip in Yorkshire yesterday
It came as Britons faced major rail disruption due to severe flooding after a girl died in a mudslide amid a month’s worth of rain and a Met Office ‘danger to life’ warning.
Ten-year-old Leah Harrison died in a mudslide while on a school trip to Carlton-in-Cleveland on the edge of the North York Moors on Wednesday afternoon.
Avanti West Coast cancelled services between Preston and Scotland after the River Caldew burst its banks and flooded tracks at Carlisle, blocking the West Coast Main Line in both directions. Avanti urged passengers: ‘Do not travel north of Preston.’
Other trains in the North of England were cancelled or delayed by speed restrictions due to the stormy weather, with Northern warning affected routes included York to Blackpool, Leeds to Manchester, Bradford to Huddersfield and Hull to Halifax.
The washout will continue today, especially in the North West which is under an amber warning. A further month’s worth of rain is due in 24 hours between 12pm yesterday and 12pm today – after that same figure in the previous 24-hour period.
Downpours led to some homes being flooded, with properties in Cumbria and Essex evacuated – while sandbags were distributed in Harlow after drains overflowed. The Environment Agency imposed 20 flood warnings and 116 alerts for England today.
The wettest place yesterday was Toddington in Bedfordshire which saw 79mm (3.1in) of rain in 24 hours – compared to the UK’s average rainfall for May of 71mm (2.8in).
As for the bank holiday weekend, Saturday will see dry conditions with temperatures of up to 21C (70F) in the South, but showers could return for Sunday and Monday.