UK weather: Brits brace for downpours after days of glorious 30C sunshine… but there’s good news for Glastonbury campers
GLORIOUS sun across the UK will be interrupted for some by rain today – but Glastonbury-goers will enjoy another day of clear skies.
Temperatures reached 30.5C in Surrey on Wednesday, while festival-goers at Worthy Farm in Somerset arrived to welcome sunshine.
But the blazing sunshine came to an end on Thursday as the Met Office warned of gales and thunderstorms.
The forecaster has today said temperatures will continue to take a downturn as “patchy cloud and showery bursts” take hold across much of England and Wales.
Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir said: “Across the bulk of England and Wales, it’s fine again.
“There’ll be patchy cloud but also some sunshine and temperatures a lot lower, coming in around 19C to 22C.”
“It’s a fairly pleasant evening to come, away from central and northern areas of Scotland where again there’ll be a keen wind and some showery bursts.”
The Met Office outlook adds: “Bright and breezy with showers in the north, some heavy across parts of Scotland.
“Elsewhere, fine and dry with plenty of sunny spells. Cool in the north, with fairly brisk winds. Warmer in the south, with light winds.”
Meanwhile, more than 200,000 music fans have descended on Glastonbury for the five-day festival, featuring headliners including Coldplay and Dua Lipa.
Temperatures at the site reached 27C on Wednesday, with clear skies again expected for the most part today.
Ms Nasir said: “Through the night, a muggy feel extending across Wales or the West Country as this plume of cloud and some patchy rain arrives.
“It’s a bit of a damp start to Saturday across these parts.
“Elsewhere, a bit of a cool start across eastern Scotland with some clear skies and you’ll see some sunshine across the northern half of the UK, away from the far north where w’ll continue to see those showers.
“Always more clouds and some patchy rain and drizzle just extending across Wales, even the north west of England and clipping the far south of Northern Ireland through Saturday.”
Across the weekend, England is expected to “hang on to some fine conditions”, with the mercury again rising.
Temperatures could reach 25C in the south, with an average of 22C for most.
In northern areas, the mercury is expected to read somewhere between 16C and 18C.
Saturday is expected to be “dry and bright” across the south, but with some rain possible.
Sunny spells will then continue through Sunday, before rain slowly moves towards southern areas from the north into next week.
The Met Office five-day weather forecast
Today
Bright and breezy with showers in the north, some heavy across parts of Scotland. Elsewhere, fine and dry with plenty of sunny spells. Cool in the north, with fairly brisk winds. Warmer in the south, with light winds.
Tonight
Showers will tend to ease through the evening, with most places having a fine end to the day. Overnight, cloud will thicken across some western areas with rain possible later.
Saturday
Cool and breezy across Scotland with sunshine and showers. Dry and bright for Northern Ireland and southeast England. Elsewhere, rather cloudy with some patchy rain possible. Humid in the south.
Sunday to Tuesday
Mostly dry with sunny spells Sunday. Cloud and rain moving slowly southwards through Monday, the south reaming dry for much of the day. Sunshine and showers Tuesday. Rather cool overall.