The latest update on the weather prospects across the bank holiday weekend and beyond into next week.
This late August bank holiday weekend will have a normal mix of weather across the UK, but it will not be a washout, unlike a number of our weekends during July and early August when we often had deep depressions moving over and coinciding with the weekend. Beyond the Bank Holiday, Britain's weather looks set to remain changeable and often showery, but with a signal for ridges of high pressure to become more common as we head towards mid-September, resulting in some spells of relatively settled weather.
Some areas of the UK have started off quite sunny, but there are also some extensive banks of cloud around, with some rain around the English/Scottish border. During the rest of today, most of us can expect a mix of sunshine and showers to develop, with some heavy and locally thundery showers developing in central and eastern parts of Britain. In Wales and western England and near the English Channel coast, there will generally be plenty of sunshine in between the showers, but in other regions it may be rather cloudy at times. The area of cloud and rain around the Borders will tend to break up and become showery. Northern Scotland and the north of Northern Ireland will generally be cloudy with showers merging into longer spells of rain at times.
Temperatures will be a bit below average for the time of year, reaching between 17 and 19C in most parts of the country. Highs of 20 or 21C will be widespread in eastern England, particularly East Anglia and the south-east.
Most areas will become dry overnight with some clear spells, but it will be cloudier in western Scotland and Northern Ireland, with a bland of rain approaching the west of Northern Ireland by dawn, and there will be some showers in counties bordering the Irish Sea. Temperatures will generally fall to a low of between 9 and 12C.
Sunday will start off dry and sunny in most eastern areas, but cloudy in Northern Ireland with rain spreading from the west, and with some showers around the Irish Sea. Showers will generally transfer to eastern counties during the day on Sunday, where they may again be locally thundery, particularly in eastern England. Some eastern coastal fringes will miss the showers and have a dry day with some sunny spells. It will be a dull wet day in Northern Ireland but the rain will tend to slowly fizzle out as the day progresses. Other western areas will tend to become dry, but gradually clouding over from the west as the rain band over Northern Ireland moves closer, and some light rain will move into western coastal parts of Scotland, Wales and the West Country.
Temperatures will be a little warmer than today's in eastern England, reaching 20 to 22C in most places, but it will be cooler than today in western Scotland and in Northern Ireland, with highs between 14 and 16C under the cloud and rain.
Monday will be a generally dry day with just isolated showers breaking out during the afternoon and many places missing them altogether. The band of cloud and rain that will affect some western areas on Monday will push slowly eastwards across England during Monday, bringing little or no rain with it but a spell of generally cloudier weather, and some cloudier weather will also spread south-eastwards through Scotland during the afternoon and evening. However, in between these cloudier areas, there will be plenty of sunshine. Temperatures in eastern England will be much the same as Sunday's, generally reaching 20 to 22C, but a bit warmer than Sunday's elsewhere, mostly reaching 18 to 20C.
On Tuesday a band of cloud and rain will spread south-eastwards through the country but tending to fizzle out as it heads into the south. Tuesday will be the warmest day of the week in central and eastern England, with highs of up to 24C. Otherwise it will be a bright day, with some showers mainly in Scotland. Northern and eastern Britain can expect some scattered showers on Wednesday, but it will generally be a bright day. Some rain looks set to spread in from the west through Thursday and Friday, especially affecting the south, while it looks probable that high pressure will build over northern Britain on Friday and into next weekend, resulting in northern and western Scotland generally seeing the driest and sunniest weather.
