Britain expects heavy rain and cool temperature

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Much of Britain endured a washout today with heavy rain and temperatures much cooler than in recent days – but there is good news on the horizon, with the warm and sunny weather set to return for the weekend.

The temperatures only reached 19 degree Celsius this afternoon – with the United Kingdom hotspot at Inverness, followed by Exeter at 18 degree Celsius – meaning today is likely to be the first time in over a week that the mercury has not got over 20 degree Celsius.

The most parts of Britain endured showers this morning, with the rain being most persistent across Northern Ireland North West England and western Scotland – although the South of England began to brighten up this afternoon.

And conditions will be sunny for most of England and Wales tomorrow with highs of 21C (70F) in the South East, although there will be further rain in pockets of northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Sunday is looking even warmer for the South East with temperatures of 23C (73F) expected amid sunny spells, although much of the rest of the UK will see rainfall – especially in the Midlands and North of England.

Next week rain and strong winds will sweep across most of the country as a result of a strengthening of the jet stream, but forecasters are hopeful the warm weather will return in time for the Jubilee weekend.

It comes after a very warm week which has seen highs of more than 22C (72F) every day since last Saturday – including the hottest day of the year so far on Tuesday when London Heathrow Airport got up to 27.5C (81.5F).

The United Kingdom’s previous 2022 high before this week was 23.6C (73.5F), recorded at Faversham in Kent on May 6 – and the last time the UK daily high was below 20C (68F) was Friday, May 12 when Manston in Kent got to 19.2C (66.6F).

Richard Miles, of the Met Office, said there is a chance that the high pressure system from the continent, responsible for the high temperatures and dramatic thunderstorms seen in some areas this week, will ‘encroach into the very far corner of the South East early next week’ and bring yet more thunderstorms to the region’.

However, forecasters now consider the possibility of ‘blood rain’, when concentrations of red dust or particles get mixed into rain and make it look red-hued as it falls, to be unlikely as the weather system loses its grip on the United Kingdom.

Blood rain, when it occurs in the United Kingdom, often leaves desert sand residue on cars and other surfaces. Miles said that the recent good weather ‘is going to fall off Monday, Tuesday’.

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