Wales to enjoy sunshine before rainy bank holiday weekend
Temperatures in parts of Wales will hit 17C on Saturday but forecasters have warned of heavy rain over the remainder of the bank holiday weekend.
North east Wales is expected to see the warmest temperatures on Saturday afternoon, while the south west is likely to remain cooler at around 12C to 13C.
Cloud will gradually spread across south and mid Wales before reaching parts of the north by Saturday evening. Temperatures are expected to stay fairly steady, creating close and humid conditions.
By around 7pm, heavy rain is forecast to move into much of south west Wales and parts of the mid Wales coast. South east and north Wales will avoid the worst of the downpours, although lighter showers remain possible.
The rain front is then expected to move eastwards into England during the early hours of Sunday morning, with temperatures across Wales climbing back into the low teens by lunchtime.
After a chilly but mostly dry start to Sunday, further showers are likely to develop through the day, particularly across south Wales with some patchier rain also possible in the north west.
By Sunday afternoon, south west Wales will bear the brunt of the heaviest showers, especially around Fishguard and extending eastwards towards Bannau Brycheiniog. North Wales, particularly the north east, is forecast to remain comparatively dry with temperatures staying fairly consistent.
Rain is then expected to spread across much of mid and south Wales again by Sunday evening, lingering into the early hours of Monday.
Monday itself will likely bring cloudy conditions across the country, with temperatures remaining in the low teens. However, the bank holiday will stay relatively dry, with lighter showers currently forecast along the west coast from Barmouth through Aberystwyth and down towards Tenby during the afternoon.
Elsewhere in the UK, a high of 25.4C was recorded on Friday at both Heathrow Airport and Kew Gardens in London, meaning areas of southern England were hotter than Tenerife where the projected high was 23C.
However, forecasters do not expect the sunshine to last, with much the same “unsettled conditions” and rain showers on the way over the weekend.
“We will start to see a change in weather type,” Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge told the Press Association.
“We’ll start to see a band of rain coming up from the south bringing some potentially quite heavy rain to southern parts of the country.
“Then on Sunday itself, we’ve got an area of low pressure which will bring unsettled conditions to most parts of the UK.”
The outlook is brighter for Bank Holiday Monday.
“Where we see a shower they could be quite sharp and heavy. But apart from that, Monday looks to be for many the best day of the bank holiday weekend,” said Mr Madge.
Nigel Muir, 64, founder of Paddle Richmond, a stand-up paddleboard rental company on the banks of the River Thames, said he had seen a rise in bookings on Friday morning because of the warm weather.
“Whenever we get good weather like this, we get a surge of inquiries and we’ll be busy for the rest of the weekend,” said Mr Muir.
“Nowadays people are waiting for a good weather window and book last minute.
“People are booking later and wanting a more perfect experience, which for them includes sunny weather.
“People are definitely more careful with their money, for reasons we are all familiar with, and they want to get the most out of their experience.”
The brief hot spell comes after an April that was drier and warmer than average for much of the UK, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.
Wales saw nearly two-thirds (63%) of expected rainfall last month, while England received just over a third (38%).
The north of Ireland received close to expected levels, while Scotland had 17% more rain than is typical.
All four nations recorded a higher mean temperature in April than the long-term average.
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