Showers from the west look likely for the upcoming long weekend with sunshine in between and temperatures in the mid/high teens or low 20sC. Pretty ordinary UK Bank Holiday weather.
The Bank holiday weekend charts show fine weather and warmth trying to take hold from the south thanks to an area of high pressure and low pressure with cooler, unsettled conditions in the north. It's likely there will be a lot of pushing and shoving from these areas over the next few days and if your weather app says all SUNSHINE or lots of RAIN, then bear in mind that could change. Showers from the west looks likely, with highs in the SE around 21C (70F). Pretty ordinary, unless you are writing a tabloid headline.
High pressure over the UK today is bringing a good deal of fine, bright weather, with light winds and some early mist and fog. A few spots have been down to freezing overnight but we also have some rain to start Wednesday. One area is feeding in from the North Sea, right across Merseyside, N. Wales, Manchester, northern Cheshire into the Peak District, across to Lincolnshire. This is mostly light rain, just grey and damp and will clear eastwards today. For Scotland, there is some heavier rain over the Cairngorms, with more rain appearing throughout the day. This rain is feeding in from the north with a freshening wind, so a wet and blustery day to come.
There is plenty of sunshine away from these rain areas with high cirrus streaming in across Ireland from frontal bands lurking out in the Atlantic. There has been some early mist and fog but for many, it will be a fine day with more sunshine. Winds are mostly light and from the west, more south-westerly for southern counties of England and the NW for wet northern Scotland.
The rain will linger into Thursday morning for the Northern Isles and far NE Scotland. There will still be a feed of more cloud and patchy rain at times for NW England, across a stretch of the Pennines with fine weather either side. A little patchy rain will reach Northern Ireland, away from the north coast.
Temperatures into the low 20s C will appear around London and the Midlands, eastern England. Moderate air pollution levels are forecast for southern England, UV levels are moderate to high now and the Pollen levels are low but moderate in southern Britain, with oak pollen fading but grass and weed pollen beginning to appear.
Showers will break out for Northern Ireland during Thursday afternoon and the NW Highlands. The blustery rain over NE Scotland finally pulls away during Thursday night with cooler conditions for northern Britain and Co. Antrim and Derry.
The rain band will still be over Shetland on Friday, but much of the UK has a fine start although a brisk NW wind will affect exposed areas. There is a risk of a few showers for Northern Ireland and southern Wales with one or two heavy showers for southern England during the afternoon or evening.
Plenty of fine weather over the next few days for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, some rain showers possible this evening and Friday evening, daytime temperatures 17 to 21C.
Then we enter this balancing act for the long weekend. In the west to NW flow, it looks like showers will move in from the Atlantic, so eastern Britain stays more sheltered but not immune. Temperatures range from mid-teens to low twenties. If the high pressure to the south builds a bit more, then we’ll have fewer showers and the winds will be lighter. If the low pressure in the north develops more, it’s a more blustery unsettled picture for more of the UK. SE Britain looks relatively fair with temperatures in the high teens/ low 20sC. No heatwave, not a washout, but not reliable weather if you are out and about.
