Long-awaited warm and settled weather may be just around the corner, but there’ll be strong winds and rain to endure before we get there, a weather expert has said. The UK could see its warmest day of the year so far this Saturday (April 6) with the mercury rising up to 18C, 19C or even 20C, according to Jim Dale.
Mr Dale, founder and the senior meteorological consultant at British Weather Services, told Express.co.uk: “It’s going to get warmer on Saturday to start with, despite Storm Kathleen’s winds.
“Those winds are southerly, drawn up from the Canary Islands. Southeast England, East Anglia and possibly Humberside [could see] 18C to 19C to 20C. It will probably be the warmest day so far this year.”
He added Storm Kathleen might encourage the end of the rainy, unsettled weather which has dominated the UK for months, as low pressure is pushed by winds towards Iceland to be replaced by high pressure building in from the Azores.
Blustery conditions are set to arrive on Friday (April 5) as the storm, named by the Met Eireann, the Irish Meteorological Service, rolls in.
Gusts of 50mph are “expected quite widely” on Saturday, while some exposed areas, particularly on the coast, will see 60 to 70mph gusts with large waves also likely, according to the Met Office.
Mr Dale cautioned there may be more rain next week, but he said that wouldn’t necessarily mean a return to low pressure and unsettled weather dominating again.
He said: “It will be more of a stop-start situation. Spring-like weather will push up temperatures. By the middle of the month we should see some overdue changes. We’ll get there, but it’ll be one step forward and one step back.”
Weather maps generated on Thursday (April 4) by WX Charts show temperatures in the mid to high teens later this month, with 16C to 17C across much of England and Wales on April 14.
Mr Dale said the UK has some grief to come in the shape of Storm Kathleen, but it looks as if a break from the unsettled weather is at last on the cards.
Met Office UK 5 day weather forecast
Thursday April, 4 – Monday, April 8
Headline: Heavy rain moving north tonight, with hill snow across Scotland.
This evening and tonight: Rain, heavy at times,will move northwards tonight, turning to snow over hills in central and northern Scotland. Drier with clear spells and a few showers following in the southwest later Rather windy for most with gales in the west.
Friday: Rain clearing eastwards, though lingering across parts of the north, with further hill snow here. Warm sunshine developing across England and Wales, though with showers for a time. Generally windy.
Outlook for Saturday to Monday: A windy day on Saturday, especially in the west, with rain clearing to showers. Sunny spells and blustery showers on Sunday, with perhaps a longer spell of rain on Monday.
