The Met Office has released weather maps showing rain will lash across the UK on Saturday, with the heaviest downpours expected in the Midlands and the Northwest of England. A band of low pressure is set to sweep in from the west and make landfall on Saturday, bringing widespread showers across the country.
Forecasters say parts of the Midlands and the Northwest of England are likely to see the heaviest of the rain. Up to 8mm of rain is expected in some areas, such as Lancashire and Cumbria, on Saturday afternoon. The Environment Agency says there are no flood alerts or warnings in place as yet.
Wet weekend ahead
Parts of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will also see showers on Saturday and Sunday, forecasters believe. The Met Office's latest charts show rain pushing in from the Atlantic, striking Ireland first before making its way across the UK. While some isolated patches of rain are expected over the UK on Friday, Saturday is when conditions become far more widespread.
It follows a dry few days. Large swathes of the UK saw little to no rainfall on Monday and Tuesday, with the most significant showers coming over the Isles of Scilly on Tuesday.
Temperature drop
Temperatures have been balmy of late, with 28.1C recorded at Kew Gardens, southwest London, on Tuesday. The mercury is poised to drop, though, as the low pressure moves eastwards in the coming days. With it, showers will fall and concern has already been raised about flooding.
The current Met Office forecast reads: "Showers affect northern and western areas at times, staying drier further south. Windy, especially in the north and west. Temperatures [will be] near average further north and above average in the south."
Areas facing heaviest rain
The Met Office has identified the following areas as facing the heaviest rain on Saturday:
- England: Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, County Durham, Cumbria, Tyne & Wear
- Wales: Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conway, Denbigshire, Flintshire, Wrexham, Ceredigion
As the Express reports, the next band of rainfall may come as a welcome relief following a sweltering summer that brought droughts and parched lawns. But, after the weekend, the picture is poised to change again. Monday looks dry for many regions, though temperatures are unlikely to exceed 15C, which is typical for this time of year. A north-south divide appears to emerge on weather maps from Tuesday - with rain in northern parts and drier weather across southern counties.
