A band of heavy rain is set to sweep across the UK on Friday, with the Met Office identifying 36 areas likely to be affected. The worst-hit locations could see up to 8mm of rain per hour.
Rain arrives overnight
The wet weather is forecast to arrive at 12.30am on Friday, October 16, bringing an end to the warm October sunshine seen in recent days. The band of rain will cover large parts of south western England, southern and central Wales, the Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire are expected to bear the brunt of the showers. Small parts of Wales, Devon and Cornwall could also see significant rainfall, though 1-4mm is expected more widely. Londonderry in Northern Ireland is also forecast to have scattered showers.
Rain moves east
By 3.15am, the rain will have cleared central Wales, Yorkshire and the Humber, moving eastwards across the Midlands. By 5am, wet conditions will reach Dorset, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, along with large parts of the Midlands and East Anglia.
At this time, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland will be the worst hit, with up to 8mm of rain forecast, while Warwickshire will see between 2-4mm per hour. By 7am, the band will cover almost all of East Anglia, alongside London, Surrey and Hampshire, with up to 4mm of rain expected.
Cooler air follows
The Met Office says the cold front will have cleared southeast England by tomorrow, with a cooler air mass spreading across the UK on north to north-westerly winds.
A spokesperson added: "Many places will see a mixture of sunshine and showers, with temperatures generally returning closer to average for mid-October. Daytime temperatures are expected to reach the low teens in northern areas and the mid-teens farther south."
"Overnight, skies are likely to clear more widely, allowing temperatures to fall. Some sheltered parts of Scotland could see a touch of air frost by Saturday morning."
Full list of 36 areas
The areas facing rain on Friday include:
England: Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland.
Wales: Cardiff, Newport (Gwent), Monmouthshire, Glamorgan, Powys, Herefordshire border areas.
Scotland: Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Stirlingshire, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire.
Northern Ireland: County Tyrone, Londonderry.
