UK weather today: ‘Intense’ rain but temperature rising to 18C before thunderstorms this weekend, Met Office warns
BRITS are braced for “intense” rain today but temperatures will rise to 18C before thunderstorms hit this weekend, according to the Met Office.
Today, some cloudy weather will follow after a bright start to the day as rain spreads across most parts of the UK as the day goes on.
And some heavy rain is expected in the south, say the Met Office.
Weather forecasters say that today will see some “intense bursts” of rain that will slowly move from the south towards the Midlands and East Anglia.
But temperatures are set to rise in some parts of the country by Friday with a “mild start to the morning”.
Conditions will be pleasant and around 16 to 18C, according to Met Office forecaster Clare Nasir.
And the Met Office says there will be some sunshine on Friday as rain becomes confined to the northern part of the country.
Over the bank holiday weekend, a mixture of brighter conditions and showers are expected, with the heaviest and most frequent rains likely to occur in the west on Saturday.
On Sunday, most locations can expect to see at least some showers, while rains will more likely be focused towards the east on the bank holiday Monday, with drier conditions prevailing elsewhere.
The weather office also warns that there a risk of thunderstorms as temperatures rise.
It comes as Brits are set to soak up 21C over the May Bank Holiday, making the country hotter than Athens, according to the Met Office.
The latest forecasts suggest that the mercury in southern areas will rise higher than that in the Greek capital on Bank Holiday Monday.
A new graphic, released by The Met on Twitter, shows the maximum temperatures for the next seven days.
The South is expected to warm to the high teens by Friday, before hitting 21C on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.
In contrast, Athens is only expected to hit 19C on Monday and Tuesday.
Forecasters said the warmer climes were a result of mild air being drawn up from the Atlantic.
Chris Almond, Deputy Chief Meteorologist, added: “By Friday temperatures will have increased so that we will see values around 18-21C across parts of the UK.
“The coming bank holiday weekend itself will be a mixture of brighter conditions and showers.
“These showers will tend to be heaviest and most frequent in the west on Saturday.
“On Sunday most locations can expect to see at least some showers, whereas on the bank holiday Monday the focus for showers is more likely to be the east, with drier conditions elsewhere. Temperatures will be reasonable and above average.”