Sunshine & showers for many on Saturday, heavy with hail and thunder across the south. Sunday drier for much of England and Wales, cloud and rain spreading into north and west. Continuing unsettled next week.
Much of the past week has been on the cool side and blustery with showers affecting many areas away from the far south. The first half of the weekend continues in a similar vein, though we will see more in the way of showers across southern areas on Saturday, where they will be heavy and thundery too. Sunday is looking the better half of the weekend, with many dry and bright, though cloud and rain will move in across the north and west by evening. Then it’s back to sunshine and showers for the first half of next week, though hints of drier and more settled weather for the second half of the week, as high pressure builds in from the west.
For now, for parts of Wales, The Midlands and southern England there are showers from the word this morning, even bringing a rumble of thunder across Wales. Some scattered showers also across the far north of England, Scotland and N. Ireland, but in between there are some good sunny spells to be had this morning.
Through the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, heavy showers will develop more widely and push east across Wales, the Midlands, southern England and East Anglia, bringing hail and thunder locally, some sunny spells between the showers. Heaviest of the showers with risk of thunder tending to be towards the east in the afternoon, lighter towards the west. A storm forecast has been issued. Further north, after a mostly dry start for northern England, here joining Scotland and N. Ireland to sunshine and showers, towards eastern Scotland showers may turn heavy with hail and the odd rumble of thunder.
With winds lighter than of late, it will feel pleasant in the sun between the showers, though temperatures still rather disappointing for early August – reaching 16-18C generally, perhaps 19-20C across SE England and East Anglia.
A ridge of high pressure moves in from the west overnight, which will mean any showers should soon fade after dark with clear spells developing. And with a cool westerly or northwesterly flow under clearing skies it will turn chilly overnight – especially in rural areas where temperatures will drop into single figures, perhaps even a touch of frost in sheltered glens of Scotland.
So, a gloriously sunny but chilly start for Sunday morning across many areas. However, already signs of a change across Ireland, N. Ireland and western Scotland through the morning, as a new area of low pressure approaches over the Atlantic, bringing cloud, outbreaks of rain and strengthening winds here by lunchtime, before spreading east across much of Scotland, northern England and west Wales too by early evening. Further south and east, east Wales, Midlands, southern England and East Anglia staying dry and bright or sunny, though cloud increasing the further west you are. Temperatures reaching 15-18C in the north and west, but where it stays sunniest for longest, reaching 20-22C across SE England and East Anglia.
Continuing unsettled into early next week. Rain clearing northern areas first thing on Monday to sunshine and showers for the rest of the day, a weakening band of rain spreading southeast across Wales, the Midlands and southern England during the morning, turning showery into the afternoon here. Tuesday and Wednesday likely to see sunshine and showers across many parts, locally heavy with hail and thunder, though northern Scotland perhaps staying mostly dry and sunny. Thursday, at the moment, looks mostly dry, sunny and fine – similar across southern areas on Friday too, though perhaps turning wet and windy across northern areas.
