The UK is set to face two weeks of rain in a matter of days as the Met Office warns of “heavy showers” and “thunder” throughout the rest of May.
May 12 is set to bring the first bout of rain for parts of Britain, including London, Southampton, Birmingham, Plymouth, and Cardiff.
By May 13, the rain will move north, affecting Manchester, Newcastle and parts of Scotland. And it’s not set to stop until May 25, according to weather maps that warn of rainy spells as temperatures fluctuate.
Parts of the UK could see highs of 25C on Sunday after a warm week, with temperatures set to drop again from Monday to lows of 14C.
The Met Office warned of “low pressure” bringing “unsettled conditions” throughout the rest of May.
East Anglia, London and the Midlands will see the best of the weather this weekend, with temperatures peaking at 25C on Sunday. In the north, Liverpool, Glasgow and Newcastle could see the mercury rise to around 22C, the charts predict.
The Met Office predicted “fine and dry” weather for the majority of Britain this weekend, with its forecast for the period between Friday, May 10 and Sunday, May 19, reading: “There is a strong signal for high pressure across the UK at the start of this period, bringing a good deal of fine and dry weather for most areas, though with patchy mist and fog in places each morning.
“Northwestern parts of the UK are likely to be the exception to this, with more in the way of cloud and rain at times here.
“The high is likely to maintain its influence into the weekend before starting to weaken during the following week.”
Wednesday 15 May – Friday 24 May
Low pressure is expected to be dominant across the UK at the start of this period, bringing widely unsettled conditions. Most areas will be affected by showers, which could in a few places be heavy, slow-moving, with thunder and possibly hail, or even longer spells of rain at first. Winds will mostly be light, and temperatures around to a little above average for the time of year. Heading into next weekend and beyond confidence falls significantly, but on balance the weather is more likely to turn a little less unsettled, with a greater chance of longer drier interludes between further rain or showers. Temperatures overall most likely to be a little above average but the chances of any prolonged settled, dry or hot weather are lower than normal.
Saturday 25 May – Saturday 8 Jun
Signals during this period are extremely weak, and for the most part indistinguishable from climatology. Similar weather conditions to those of the preceding few days are most likely to characterise this period to the end of May; a mixture of unsettled periods with rain and showers and settled interludes in-between. By early June, the chances of above and below average rainfall are evenly balanced. There is a slightly higher likelihood of above average temperatures compared with below average temperatures, such that the chance of hot spells, although still very small, is slightly higher than normal too.
