BANK holiday Brits will be shivering in the rain rather than sunbathing amid an Arctic blast, the Met Office has revealed.
Much to the disappointment of those making plans, temperatures will be just 12C on average with highs of 15C for the long weekend next week – although temperatures will rise to 27C mid-May.
A series of hot spells, each lasting up to a week, are expected just in time for May 17 – when hotels plan to reopen and overseas travel gets set to resume, The Weather Outlook has said.
Meanwhile, 30C sunshine at the start of June will set the scene nicely for when all restrictions are due to lift on June 21.
Temperatures are expected to grow even hotter later in the month, with a 33C scorcher on the way.
Read all the latest weather news and updates in our live blog below…
- Aliki Kraterou
SNOW IN THE VILLAGE OF TOMATIN IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
- Aliki Kraterou
RAINY NEXT WEEK
According to the Met office next week is expected to start with "persistent rain and stronger winds from Monday onwards, and temperatures are likely to stay below average at the start of this period."
Showers will develop in many parts of the country while some will be lucky enough to enjoy sunny spells.
"Showers are likely to fall as snow over high ground in the north.
"Nights will remain cold with some overnight frosts, though these becoming more restricted to the north.
"Temperatures are likely to remain below average overall though there are signs that they could recover back closer to average by the end of the period."
- Aliki Kraterou
COLD BANK HOL
The weekend is expected to be "rather cold with scattered showers," according to the Met Office.
"Further night frosts for many.
"Becoming wet and windy Monday, with gales in places.
"Still rather cold, though milder by night."
- Aliki Kraterou
CONTINUED
"Long range, hopes are high for a fantastic summer of sun and we make it just 5-4 that 2021 enters the record books as the warmest summer yet," added Aitkenhead.
Coral's weather specials
5-4 this summer to be the warmest since records began
2-1 this May to be the wettest on record
- Aliki Kraterou
WETTEST MAY ON RECORD
Bookmaker Coral's odds on next month being the wettest May on record have tumbled to just 2-1 (from 5-1 last week) as rain falls across the UK at the end of April.
"We were spoiled with some sensational April sunshine as pub gardens opened up for the first time in 2021 but now the rain is falling, our odds on next month being the wettest May on record in the UK have fallen too," said Coral's Harry Aitkenhead.
Coral do go just 5-4 that this summer enters the record books as the warmest the UK has had, with hopes high for a sweltering few months.
- Aliki Kraterou
SIMILAR FRIDAY
According to the Met Office, the weather will be similar tomorrow with sunny spells and showers.
"Another day of sunshine and showers, these most frequent around coasts at first but developing more widely inland by day.
"Staying cool."
- Aliki Kraterou
HEAVY SHOWERS EXPECTED AHEAD OF THE BANK HOL
- Aliki Kraterou
CONTINUED
Forecaster Ms Shuttleworth said: "It has been a very dry April, with quite a few areas of the UK seeing quite a small margin of their average April rainfall.
"Some counties may see their lowest April rainfall but it won't be a UK-wide thing."
- Aliki Kraterou
DRIEST APRIL ON RECORD
Despite the odd showers this month has been the driest Aprils on record, with the UK seeing less than a fifth of the average rainfall for the month so far.
Up to April 22, there had been an average of 12.8mm of rain across the UK, much lower than the April average of 72.53mm, according to Met Office figures.
A typical April in the UK would have had 70 per cent of its rainfall by now, but it instead has just had 18 per cent.
- Aliki Kraterou
DRY WITH 'ODD SHOWERS' TONIGHT
Showers will be "dying out inland but continuing around coasts exposed to the northeasterly winds," the Met Office said.
Odd showers are possible later in central parts of the country while it will be chilly with rural frost for some.
- Aliki Kraterou
CHILLY TODAY
The day begins with scattered showers in the coast and the north.
The rest of the country is dry with some frost in places.
According to the Weather Outlook the day showers become more "widespread in central and northern areas" and could "fall as snow over high ground in the north."
There will be scattered showers in the afternoon in the south but many places will remain dry.
"Despite widespread sunny spells it will feel cold for the time of year.
"Maximum temperatures range from 6C in northern Scotland to 13C in southern England," they said.
- Aliki Kraterou
SHOWERS OVER THE BANK HOLIDAY
The May Day bank holiday is set to be a mixed bag with showery conditions and temperatures well below the average seen in the past two weeks, the Met Office said.
Annie Shuttleworth, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said the weekend will bring “a mixture of sunshine, showers, and a cold east to the northeasterly wind”.
They added: “Showers will be most frequent in the north and east, but could become quite widespread overland during the day.
“Some wintriness is probable over high ground of Scotland.”
- Aliki Kraterou
SUNNY THURSDAY
According to the Met Office it will be sunny today for most of the country.
Showers are expected in the north and east coasts.
"Showers mostly around exposed north and east coasts at first but developing more widely inland by afternoon.
"Some showers wintry on northern hills. Mostly dry in southeast. Feeling cool."
- Patrick Knox
DON'T WORRY A HEATWAVE IS ON ITS WAY
According to The Weather Outlook, a series of warm spells are expected across Britain from mid-May, with temperatures around 27C.
We could even see a heatwave in the low 30s in early June, and forecasters rare predicting a very warm summer ahead.
Tim Dale, of British Weather Services, said: “There will definitely be some spikes of heat as we go into summer when I expect to see temperatures in the high 20Cs or even the low 30Cs.”
- Patrick Knox
SNOW WAY
The first week of May could be a snowy one, according to weather graphs.
The white stuff could follow weeks of warm spring weather that has been enjoyed by millions as the lockdown lifts.
The Weather Outlook tweeted an image of the UK with smudges of snow dotted across the map.
“GFS06z shows the risk of snow in southern counties during the first week of May,” they said.
- Patrick Knox
GARDENS AND FLOWERS ‘DAMAGED’ BY APRIL FROST
Guy Barter, Chief Horticulturist at the Royal Horticultural Society, said: “Considerable damage has been experienced in many gardens with flowers such as camellia and magnolias being scorched, and cherry, plum and pear blossom injured so that the fruit crop will be reduced.”
On top of the frosts this has also been one of the driest April’s ever.
The average rainfall so far is 5mm, under the record low of 7.1mm recorded in April 1938.
With just three days of the month left it is almost certainly going to be in the top 10 driest April’s since rainfall records began 1862.
- Patrick Knox
MORE SPACE FOR NATURE
Alastair Cameron, project manager at the National Trust, said: “By creating new wetland habitat similar to that found before the embankment was built, we can make space for nature and water.
“All the original salt marshes and reed beds along the river would have absorbed large quantities of water and supported a range of wildlife.
“Although the work we are doing will still be a human intervention, we are aiming to help the water to encroach naturally.
“The new bank will mean we can protect important infrastructure and help to minimise disruption to people when we experience high tides and extreme weather events.”
- Patrick Knox
COLD COMFORT
Brits are in three days of frost from today until Saturday as temperatures plunge across much of the country, according to forecasters.
- Patrick Knox
POLAR WINDS AND LASHING RAIN BLAST BRITAIN
Alas, we are set for an Arctic blast this week with heavy rain expected and temperatures set to plummet.
Heavy showers are expected to sweep the country ahead of a wet Bank Holiday weekend.
- Patrick Knox
TONIGHT'S WEATHER
Daytime showers will ease and clear this evening and there will be some late spells of sunshine.
Then it will be dry overnight with long clear spells and patches of mist and fog will form.
Patchy cloud cover will build and there showers may possibly develop towards dawn.
- Patrick Knox
MEGA’ HATCH OF MIDGES
A “mega” hatch of midges is set to emerge in days because of a perfect swarm of conditions in Scotland, one of the world’s leading experts says.
It is bad news for Scots thinking of taking a staycation as the country moves from level 4 lockdown to level 3.
Minibeast expert Dr Alison Blackwell said: “Midges like wet and warm weather and that is what is predicted when they emerge in a couple of weeks.
- Patrick Knox
ODDS SLASHED ON WETTEST MAY BANK HOLIDAY
Leading bookmaker Coral has cut the odds on the next week’s May bank holiday being the wettest on record to 6-4 (from 3-1).
The firm makes it 2-1 for next month to be a record wet May, while it is 3-1 2021 to have a record wet summer.
“The forecast for the bank holiday weekend does not look great. It looks like we are going to get a lot of rain so we have slashed the odds on Monday being a record wet May bank holiday,” said Coral’s John Hill.
“If the rains continues into the month, we could be on course for a record wet May too”!
**Coral’s weather specials
6-4 Record wet May bank holiday
2-1 Next month to be a record wet May
3-1 Wettest summer on record in 2021
- Patrick Knox
HAY FEVER SYMPTOMS
- sneezing and coughing
- a runny or blocked nose
- itchy, red or watery eyes
- itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears
- loss of smell
- pain around your temples and forehead
- headache
- earache
- feeling tired
FROSTIEST APRIL IN 60 YEARS
April 2021 has seen the most air frosts in the last 60 years in the UK.
Provisional figures show it topping the previous frostiest April in 1970, in records going back to 1960.
SUB-TROPICAL PLUME FOR MAY
May’s weather will “continue to be influenced by a large area of high pressure, known as a sub-tropical high,” predicts BBC Weather.
It explains: “As we head into the warmer months of the year, this high will become stronger and larger and tend to be centred near the Azores to the west of Spain and Portugal.
“This year we have unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic which have been helping to build this high earlier than normal.
“For the first week of May, the sub-tropical high should strengthen and push into Western Europe, which will bring north-westerly winds for a while and help to keep temperatures a bit below average, at least at the start of the week.”
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