Rain will drench Britain today as Met Office warns thunderstorms could batter the country this week
Don’t rain on our parade! May Day fever grips UK as crowds enjoy traditional celebrations on damp bank holiday Monday as forecasters warn of showers and thunderstorms in the East
- The Met Office has warned that Saturday’s coronation could see showers
Brits today took advantage of the Monday bank holiday to enjoy traditional May Day celebrations – even as wet weather threatened to put a dampener on their parades.
Light showers swept across the country as the Met Office also released a dour forecast showing King Charles’ coronation could be marred by thunderstorms and heavy downpours next weekend too.
After a chilly start this morning, the Met Office said ‘drier conditions are expected to develop across the west, whilst showers become concentrated across eastern areas’.
However, not everyone will enjoy the warmer conditions with parts of Scotland seeing a noticeable drop in temperatures as a cold front makes its way down from the north.
And forecasters have warned that the King’s coronation on Saturday could be blighted by heavy downpours.
Thousands of students at St Andrew’s University took to the Firth of the Forth estuary in Fife at sunrise to celebrate the annual May Day tradition that is supposed to bring luck in their exams
Morris dancers celebrated the bank holiday at Old John Tower in Leicester’s Bradgate Park
A ‘Green Man’ at a May Day Beltane ceremony at Chalice Well, Glastonbury, Somerset
LONDON: Britons walking over London Bridge with their umbrellas on April 24, 2023
Forecaster Ben Rich said: ‘There are some further showers in the forecast for bank holiday Monday, but equally some spells of sunshine.
‘Many of us will again feel relatively warm, particularly in the sunshine, but northern parts, particularly Scotland will start to turn rather chilly.’
The west of the country will see the best of the conditions with scattered showers, some of which could be heavy and thundery, between spells of sunshine from the east of Wales to the east coast of England.
Mr Rich added: ‘Across England and Wales we are going to see some spells of sunshine.
‘West Wales and the south west of England are not seeing too many showers, Northern Ireland brightens up through the afternoon with some spells of sunshine.
LONDON: Marathon runners in the rain on April 23, 2023
‘Most of us will see temperatures between 14 and 17C but through the afternoon those temperatures will be dropping across the northern half of Scotland.’
That drop in temperatures means a chilly start for many on Tuesday but most places will remain dry.
Tuesday and Wednesday look like they will be mainly dry with bright and sunny spells across the UK before rain and more unsettled weather could start to push up from the south and west from Thursday as the nation heads towards the coronation weekend.
Early indications for Saturday suggest a mix of sunshine and showers, occasionally heavy in London with a top temperature around 20C.
