Britain is set for a wet bank holiday weekend as a band of rain sweeps in from the southwest early on Saturday morning. Rain is expected to arrive in Northern Ireland and the southwest coast, reaching Cornwall from around 6am on Saturday before pushing northeastwards across the UK, according to weather maps by WXCharts.
Much of England, Scotland and Wales could see a thoroughly wet Saturday as the low-pressure system brings widespread and, at times, heavy rain. The rain should begin to ease overnight, giving some areas a relatively drier spell on Saturday evening before the next band moves in on Sunday.
Second spell of rain on Sunday
This second spell of rain is expected to bring another prolonged period of wet weather, with Scotland and Northern Ireland particularly affected as the system moves further northwest. At 3pm on Sunday, nearly the whole of the UK has been forecast rain. This could continue into Monday, gradually becoming more scattered before easing from around 3pm.
From when the rain hits on Saturday morning until Monday afternoon, 57 hours will pass with heavy rainfall that eases overnight.
Met Office forecast differs
The Met Office, which differs from WXCharts, has forecast an unsettled bank holiday weekend, with further spells of rain moving across the UK. The agency said it will be windy at times, especially on Saturday, with temperatures around average for late August.
Counties with rain
The following 93 counties are expected to see rain over the weekend:
Scotland: Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian.
Northern Ireland: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry / Derry, Tyrone.
Wales: Anglesey, Brecknockshire, Caernarfonshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Merionethshire, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire, Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire.
England: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, County Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater London, Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Somerset, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Tyne and Wear, Warwickshire, West Sussex, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire.
