Bank holiday staycationers would be wise to pack an umbrella as the country is set for a damp weekend with mild 55F highs before the downpours continue next week.
Heavy bursts of rain are expected in the far southeast, northern and northeastern parts of the UK tomorrow as temperatures plummet below 50F for the rest of the week.
It comes as Matt Fox, CEO and Founder of UK holiday rental marketplaces Snaptrip, Big Cottages and Dog Friendly Cottages, said Britons would be swarming to the coast for the May bank holiday weekend.
Of the weather from Friday to Sunday, a Met Office spokesman added: ‘Sunny spells and scattered showers, which could be heavy with hail in a few places. Mainly light winds. Rather cold by day; chilly nights and occasional air frost.’
Today most Britons will be ‘feeling chilly’, according to the Met Office, with areas of rain in parts of central, south and southwest UK. The rain will be ‘heavy at times particularly in the south,’ they added.
Heavy bursts of rain are expected in the far southeast, northern and northeastern parts of the UK tomorrow as temperatures plummet below 50F for the rest of the week. Pictured, cherry blossom at Saltwell Park in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, today
A canal boat travels in the rain along the River Kennet near Theale, Berkshire today
Tomorrow rain in the south will focus on the far southeast ‘where some heavy bursts’ will continue. Those in northern and northeastern parts will also face showers. But it will be ‘dry elsewhere and chilly, particularly in the west,’ the forecaster added.
It comes as it was revealed this April has been Britain’s frostiest in at least 60 years.
There have been 13 days of air frost in the past month, making it the frostiest April since records began in 1960, provisional Met Office data shows. The previous record holder was April 1970, with 11.
Despite the cold nights, the sunny weather means this month is also on course to be among the driest on record. So far there has been only seven per cent of the average rainfall for the time of year.
Mark McCarthy, of the National Climate Information Centre, said: ‘We’ve been seeing a high frequency of frosts overnight throughout April thanks largely to persistent clear skies.’
Across the four nations, England has reported 12 days of air frost and Wales 11 days.
Scotland has reported 16 days, making it the frostiest April since records began in 1960.
Northern Ireland has currently seen eight days of frost, not yet exceeding its current record of 11 days set in April 1983.
It comes after several days of clear skies and sunshine across the UK, with double-digit daytime temperatures felt across large parts of the country.
The peak daytime temperature was felt last week in Porthmadog, Wales, where the mercury reached a maximum of 20.8C on Friday.
But clear skies mean that chillier nights and more frosts are expected to continue as the month comes to a close.
Annie Shuttleworth, meteorologist at the Met Office, said: ‘We’ve seen high pressure dominating for the last few weeks which is why we’ve had the drier weather and less cloud.
People walking their dog are caught in a heavy snow shower on Wimbledon Common on a cold morning with freezing temperatures on April 12
The A90 near Longhaven, Aberdeenshire, covered in snow earlier this month
‘Clearer skies mean temperatures can cool off more readily overnight when there’s no sun but in the day clearer skies can act to warm up the daytime temperatures.’
Average overnight temperatures have been hovering around freezing at 0.4C (32.7F), which is three degrees lower than the UK average for April at 3.4C (38.1F).
The maximum daytime temperature has also been slightly lower than average at 11.4C (52.3F), compared with 12C (53.6F) which is normal for April.
Ms Shuttleworth said that sunny spells would still feature in the coming days, but parts of the country would also see showers, and overnight temperatures would stay low.
The weekend weather was set to maintain the trend of what has been one of the driest Aprils on record, with the UK seeing less than a fifth of the average rainfall for the month so far.
Up to April 22, there had been an average of 12.8mm of rain across the UK, much lower than the April average of 72.53mm, according to Met Office figures.
A typical April in the UK would have had 70 per cent of its rainfall by now, but it instead has just had 18 per cent.
But Ms Shuttleworth said rain in the coming days could drive up averages. ‘You could get some rain over the next couple of days that will bring the totals up,’ she said.
‘It has been a very dry April, with quite a few areas of the UK seeing quite a small margin of their average April rainfall. Some counties may see their lowest April rainfall but it won’t be a UK-wide thing.’