Met Office weather forecasters have issued an Easter weather warning as a vast rain bomb appears to be heading for the UK. An Easter weekend washout is very much on the cards, according to the agency, which has said April will be overwhelmingly wet to start.
Britons have only recently overcome the latest spell of wet weather, as multiple systems coursing through the UK have poured out nearly 10 inches worth of rain this month.
The latest figures posted by the Government show that 251mm (9.8 inches) of precipitation has fallen across the country in March so far.
But the worst may be yet to come, as the Met Office’s latest long-range forecast states no part of the UK will be spared rainfall by the time Easter arrives.
The long-range forecast, which covers March 25 to April 3, states that, while temperatures are unlikely to waiver from the national average for the time of year, rainfall will be extensive.
The agency has predicted that “unsettled” weather will define the period, as rainfall hits “all areas” at some point during the four-day weekend, which lands between March 29 and April 1.
The forecast states: “Through the bank holiday weekend and into the following week, unsettled or changeable weather remains the most likely outcome.
“All areas are likely to see further rain or showers at times, with some drier spells in between, but wet weather will tend to favour the southwest while northern parts remain a bit drier on average.”
The forecast adds: “Temperatures will probably continue near normal for the time of year.”
The weather could grow much nastier before then, maps show, with intense precipitation expected to pummel the west coast.
The most severe rainfall is expected on the southwest coast near Plymouth, where up to 34mm could fall at times next week.
Rain will become particularly intense over Scotland by late in the evening on Tuesday, March 26, when WXCharts maps predict 39mm could fall over the Highlands and up to 42mm further east.
The rain appears likely to become less intense but more widespread over the following days, with no part of the country left untouched by comparatively light rainfall – between 1mm and 5mm per hour – by March 30.
Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said that some models suggest conditions “could be more settled by the Monday”, but the forecast is unclear at this point given it is still some time in the future.
Today:
Low cloud and fog clearing in the south, and staying mostly dry here with some hazy sunshine through the afternoon. Rain and strong winds in the north moving southeast, with sunshine and blustery showers behind, feeling colder here.
Tonight:
Band of rain continues moving southeast to lie across southwest England and the Midlands by morning. Cloudy and mild to the south. Colder and clearer to the north and windy.
Friday:
Cloud and rain slowly clears southeast. Elsewhere, sunny spells and scattered showers, these most frequent in the northwest and wintry over high ground. Rather windy and turning colder for all.
Outlook for Saturday to Monday:
Feeling cold this weekend with sunny spells and blustery showers, these heavy and possibly wintry at times over hills. Showers fading through Sunday though becoming unsettled again on Monday.
