Bank holiday weather forecast to be warm and sunny, but wet for some

Warmer weather and sunshine are forecast across much of the UK for the bank holiday weekend, but the threat of rain remains in parts of the country.

The Met Office said many people would experience dry, bright and warm conditions, reaching up to 21C in southern areas.

But the threat of slow-moving, heavy rain and even the chance of thunder remained for some.

The chief meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert, said: “After many areas saw below average temperatures earlier in the week, temperatures are rising across much of the UK as warmer air is drawn north-east from the North Atlantic.

“This has brought a lot of moisture too, which will help trigger showers as well as allow some low cloud to affect some coasts.

“With light winds, showers that do develop will be slow-moving and lead to some heavy downpours, accompanied by hail and thunder at times.”

The heaviest showers on Saturday were expected across Northern Ireland, north-east Wales and central England.

Showers were expected across much of the UK on Sunday, with the exception of central and south-east England, but by Monday drier conditions were forecast to develop from the west.

Monday’s showers would become concentrated across eastern areas.

While temperatures had risen in most areas, Scotland was expected to have a cooler day on Saturday before returning closer to average temperatures on Sunday and Monday.

High pressure through the early part of next week was likely to keep the number of showers down.

Early predictions for next weekend suggested a mixture of sunshine and showers for the king’s coronation.

London, and most of southern England, was expected to have sunshine and showers, which could be heavy at times. Temperatures were expected to reach 17C to 20C.

Elsewhere, the forecast was for slightly cooler weather, with cloud, sunny spells and light rain throughout the weekend.