UK weather forecast: Heavy rain and thunderstorms to end spell of warm, sunny weather

Country split as south stays mild and dry, north sees plunging temperatures and persistent rainfall

Alessio Perrone
Friday 17 May 2019 12:29 BST
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General view of spectators under umbrellas during a passing rain shower during the The Derby Trial Day at Lingfield Racecourse.
General view of spectators under umbrellas during a passing rain shower during the The Derby Trial Day at Lingfield Racecourse.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms are set to move into the northern half of the UK ahead of the weekend, as the UK will see a south-north divide in the weather.

Starting from Friday evening, Scotland and North West England will see persistent heavy rain with possibilities of thundery showers, ending the recent spell of warm weather, the Met Office said.

But in the south of the country, it will be mild and quite dry – although cloudy.

“That’s the picture for the weekend for the UK – a half-half split,” said Met Office spokesperson Richard Miles.

“Today will be cooler and cloudier across the country but very warm and sunny in the North West and in North and Western Scotland, which will be holding on to the recent warm weather.

“But overnight, rain will move in from the east from the north of the UK.

“The northern half of the country will see heavy, slow-moving rain and much cooler temperatures. In particular, Scotland will see a big plunge in temperatures, more clouds and rain.”

“There are possibilities of thunderstorms, particularly in the northern half of the UK, but they will be thundery showers, not huge amounts of thundery weather.

“The south will brighter, warmer and cloudy. There could be showers anywhere, but not very widespread or heavy. But there will also be spells of sunshine.

“It will be mild, a reasonable weekend, although not as warm as what we’ve seen recently.”

Sunny spells and showers, perhaps thundery, are forecast for after the weekend, with the clouds retreating to the east only on Tuesday.

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