Summer begins tomorrow and to start there'll be a continuation of the sunny, dry warm weather which has been so frequent during May. But change is on way, with cooler, less settled weather spreading across the UK by midweek.
It's the final day (meteorologically speaking) of what has been the sunniest Spring on record. Although the very start of summer is going to see a continuation of the sunshine and warmth, change is on the way this week.
That change will start to happen from Tuesday, with rain likely across the north of Scotland and some showers perhaps breaking out in other parts of Northern Britain. By Wednesday, as winds swing round to a much cooler north or northeasterly direction, the threat of heavy and thundery showers grows across England and Wales. Then the rest of the week sees that cooler, cloudier and less settled flavour carrying on.
The summer long range forecast will be issued later this afternoon.
For now though, there's plenty more glorious sunshine on the way, with much of the UK and Ireland seeing another day with virtually unbroken sunshine on Sunday. Temperatures will be cooler down the eastern side of the UK, but everywhere else highs will be into the low-mid twenties with western England and Wales likely to be the warmest areas.
The pollen count is very high across the country at the moment, with the grass pollen season in full swing thanks to all the sunny weather. So do bear that in mind if you're a hayfever sufferer - if you would like to be kept up to date with the latest you can sign up to receive daily email updates over on the pollen forecast page.
Some cloud will move inland into eastern coastal counties overnight, but for most it's another dry and clear one with temperatures dipping to a quite comfortable 8-11c. Monday then dawns as Sunday left off, with bags of sunshine. A little more cloud may bubble up during the day than we've been used to of late, but there'll still be long sunny periods throughout with temperatures climbing back into the twenties. There's also the small chance of the odd shower in the northwest highlands during the afternoon, a small hint of the changes ahead.
That change begins to accelerate into Tuesday, although much of England and Wales won't see it, with more very warm sunshine here. For Scotland though, there'll be outbreaks of rain running down from the northwest with showers breaking out south of it. Those showers will be hit and miss but may extend down into Northern Ireland, Southern Scotland and Northern (particularly northeast) England. If you do catch one, it's liable to be heavy and maybe even thundery.
There'll be quite a range of temperatures north to south during the afternoon, with the northern half of Scotland into much cooler air with highs just about stretching into the teens. But just a little further south from central Scotland southward, right through England and Wales, maxes will again be into the low-mid twenties.
What a difference a day is going to make though. By Wednesday, those temperatures are going to be taking a dive with just the far south maybe reaching the 20's celsius, and many parts 10c or so cooler than Tuesday.
With the change in temperature, there'll also some sharp showers and the potential for thunderstorms across England and Wales, with that rain from northern Scotland having also moved south into Northern England overnight - although it's likely to be quite patchy by this point.
The remainder of the week sees the cooler, less settled weather in control. There'll not be huge amounts of rain, with any which comes through likely to be showery in the main, which won't be the best of news for gardeners and growers. There'll be sunny spells in between the more showery periods, with the south and west of the country likely to see the best of those, it's here too where the warmest temperatures will be.
