Temperatures to hit mid 20s after mixed bag of bank holiday weekend weather
The remaining weeks of summer[1] could bring temperatures of 25?C despite a gusty August bank holiday weekend[2], forecasters have predicted. Storm Lilian battered the UK on Friday[3] bringing brutal winds and torrential rain as the Met Office said the rest of the long weekend would offer a "taste of autumn" as temperatures "fall into the single figures[4]". Such was the poor weather on Saturday that only one location across the entirety of the UK managed to climb above 20?C as Pershore in Worcestershire reached 20.4?C while for people in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, it fell to 5.1?C.
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said temperatures on Sunday and Monday would be "fairly chilly for this time of year" but should remain "largely dry" for most of the country. The best of the conditions were in south-east England where temperatures were forecast to hit 20?C on Sunday while Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern England also experienced heavy rain. "Monday, which is a bank holiday for the vast majority of the UK, will be dry and bright.
There will be some sunny spells and winds also falling much lighter compared to Sunday - and temperatures just lifting higher as a result," he said. The meteorologist added the "warming trend" will continue through the week for most of England and Wales, while Northern Ireland and Scotland would see "a risk of some further rain". Fellow Met Office meteorologist, Greg Dewhurst also teased that it would start to "feel warmer" into next week and the remaining days of summer as the "sun comes out" and lifts temperatures into the mid-20?Cs.
Festival-goers avoid the rain during day two of Reading Festival (Photo: Joseph Okpako/WireImage)
"It stays fairly unsettled into the week but temperatures rising - particularly by mid-week across in the east and south-east - approaching 29?C, possibly 30?C," he added.
The Met Office said it was uncertain as to how long the warmer temperatures would last as we move into autumn but the forecaster did suggest that the warmest temperatures would likely be felt next week in central and eastern areas of the country. The north-west, meanwhile, should brace for another spell of heavy and persistent rain on Tuesday, although not as severe as Friday and Saturday, it added. Meteorologists are also monitoring a cloud of sulphur dioxide which passed over the UK after a volcanic eruption in Iceland.
The "plume" of gas is understood to have begun passing over the country early on Sunday morning and has since cleared to the south-east. It was released high into the atmosphere by a volcano in Iceland and should have "little influence on ground-level air quality", the forecaster said. A Met Office spokesperson said: "A sulphur dioxide plume which originated from the volcano in Iceland has been crossing the UK high up in the atmosphere and will soon clear to the south-east.
"Impacts have been low from this sulphur dioxide, as it is high in the atmosphere and is having little influence on ground-level air quality. "Small concentrations at surface level mean that the air pollution levels remain low. Air pollution is currently low and expected to remain that way for the whole of the UK today.
"We're continuing to monitor any sulphur dioxide release originating from Iceland, with current forecasts suggesting little influence on UK surface air pollution in the coming days."
Festival goers escape the rain during day two of Reading Festival at Richfield Avenue on 24 August in Reading, England (Photo: Joseph Okpako/WireImage)
The mix of sunshine and showers comes after Storm Lilian battered the UK with strong winds exceeding 70mph to northern parts of England and Wales, causing enormous travel disruption. Leeds Festival experienced the brute force of the storm as organisers were forced to close two stages on Friday night, which were expected to feature stars including Jorja Smith, Teddy Swims, and The Wombats across the weekend. The decision came as "mother nature has played her part", organisers said.
Festival-goers were also warned to stay in their tents amid safety concerns of possible flying debris on Friday. Many revellers reported flying tents that had been blown away by the winds and others that had been discarded by those who gave up and went home. After a less gusty day on Saturday, the festival was expected to see winds of about 30mph, as artists including Raye, Lana Del Rey and Fred Again take to the main stage.
Forecasting the weather for Sunday, a Met Office spokesman said it will be "cloudy and quite windy" with "gusts of around about 30mph and outbreaks of rain". He added: "It's likely to stay cloudy for the rest of the day, with outbreaks of rain on and off through the afternoon and into the evening time. Temperatures [will be] cooler here at around about 16?C to 17?C."
Its sister event, the Reading Festival, will have a drier day than Saturday with temperatures around 18?C to 19?C in the afternoon, but it will still be "fairly breezy". "It should stay largely dry for the rest of the day here. There's a chance of one or two showers passing through later on in the afternoon into the evening time," the Met Office spokesman added.
"But it should largely be dry, but the breeze might just make it feel a bit chilly." Separately, those going to Notting Hill Carnival[5] were spared any poor weather on a sun-drenched Sunday afternoon as the iconic event kicked off in London. Almost a million people were expected to descend on west London for the annual celebration of African-Caribbean traditions and see performers dance through the streets in colourful costumes.
Notting Hill Carnival performers take part in the Children's Parade as a celebration of African-Caribbean traditions and the capital's cultural diversity (Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing)
Performers in colourful costumes take part in the Children's Parade of the Notting Hill Carnival (Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing)
But those who made their way into the city largely skirted the wet weather which hit London in short spurts on Saturday night. The event officially got under way on Saturday night but Sunday saw the main attraction as thousands of performers dazzled spectators along a three-mile route through the capital.
The procession featured an array of dancers, steel bands, and elaborate costumes adorned in exotic and intricately designed outfits to accentuate the carnival's flamboyant spirit.
As the bank holiday ends in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, millions of people are also expected to travel home on Monday, as experts warned of "severe delays" on what is expected to be the busiest weekend of the year on Britain's motorways.
The RAC estimates 19.2 million leisure trips by car will be made over the bank holiday weekend. This would be the highest since the motoring services company began recording data for the summer bank holiday in 2015. National Rail also warned the "severe weather" had blocked lines between Beverley and Scarborough, causing trains to be "cancelled, revised or delayed by up to 30 minutes".
A landslip was also reported between Honiton and Axminster. The weather also caused delays to the Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man. To combat the millions of journeys, National Highways have lifted more than 500 miles of roadworks across the country during the bank holiday weekend.
Almost 97 per cent of the road network will be free from roadworks over the long weekend, National Highways said, as motorists travel across the country to enjoy the last of the summer.
The roadworks will be reinstated from midnight 12.01am on Tuesday 27 August.
References
- ^ summer (inews.co.uk)
- ^ gusty August bank holiday weekend (inews.co.uk)
- ^ Storm Lilian battered the UK on Friday (inews.co.uk)
- ^ fall into the single figures (inews.co.uk)
- ^ Notting Hill Carnival (inews.co.uk)