Heavy rain will sweep across the UK this week, bringing gusty conditions to some places too. Met Office weather maps show a large band of rain crossing the UK on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
Deep low pressure to drive unsettled conditions
Tuesday is expected to start cloudy, according to the latest forecast, with outbreaks of drizzle at first. Throughout the day it will turn increasingly windy with gales in the northwest, the Met Office said.
Heavy rain arrives in the west on Tuesday night before moving across the UK bringing a much fresher feel on Wednesday.
Met Office chief forecaster Matthew Lehnert said: “A deep area of low pressure far into the Atlantic is the primary driver behind the UK’s weather over the next few days. Its first influence will help pull some warmer air over much of the country on Tuesday, with a peak of 27C likely – which is notably warm for the time of year. A warm night will follow across southern and eastern areas, with minimum temperatures of 19C in places.”
Rain and wind timeline
By Tuesday evening, western parts of the UK will be turning increasingly wet and windy, as the weather front gradually moves from west to east.
Met Office deputy chief forecaster Steven Keates said: “As this weather front moves gradually from west to east late on Tuesday and Wednesday, many places will see around 10mm of rain, with in excess of 40mm possible in some isolated spots in south-facing hills in the west.
“This period of weather will also see gusty winds, with gusts over 50mph possible, particularly on exposed coasts in the northwest. Large waves are likely to affect some coasts in the west, coinciding with high spring tides.”
Met Office weather maps show the band of heavy rain moving in from the west on Tuesday night. From midnight, Northern Ireland, south Wales and the southwest of England will be hit by the rain as it starts to move across the country.
By 5am on Wednesday morning, most of the west of the country will be affected by the wet weather, with the heaviest rain in parts of West Scotland, Cumbria and Somerset.
Rain clears by lunchtime, weekend outlook
By 8am, the rain will have reached the east coast of the UK, while clearing from south Wales and the southwest of England. The heaviest rain is forecast over Oxfordshire, Lancashire and parts of Greater Manchester and Cumbria.
Current maps show the rain continuing to move eastwards during the morning before clearing around lunchtime, leaving some patchy showers for the rest of the afternoon.
The Met Office said Thursday and Friday will see further rain or showers, some heavy. However for many areas, there should be some drier and brighter spells too.
Looking towards the weekend, the wet weather is expected to have cleared making way for some brighter conditions.
The Met Office said: "High pressure will gradually build in over much of the UK over the weekend, reducing the chances of any rainfall and bringing a weekend of pleasant weather for many, with some sunshine and any light showers increasingly confined to the far northwest."
Mr Keates added: “There’s a good degree of confidence that high pressure will become more dominant over the weekend with lots of dry and fine weather for many. Temperatures will generally be around average for the time of year, with this high pressure likely to linger for at least the start of next week.”
