There could be heavy rain, storms and flooding in parts of the UK this week, forecasters have warned, bringing an end to the sunny spell the UK has enjoyed recently.
After a gloomy first two months of the year, March and early April saw prolonged spells of sunshine and blue skies.
This included Britons enjoying some of the warmest days of the year so far.
Get the weather forecast where you are
However, the sunshine seems to have been brought to an end for many, for now, with the Met Office also issuing heavy rain warnings for parts of the UK this week.
Much of the country will see cooler and wetter conditions.
The Met Office warned that there could be “isolated thunderstorms” in the South East this week, with the same region, as well as the North West and West Midlands, facing the threat of floods.
This is due to a low pressure system near Portugal that could bring the wet weather, the forecaster also said.
Weather producer
The weather has been mostly settled through spring so far, but as we approach the halfway point of the season things have now changed.
The last 24 hours brought over 30mm of rain to the South West, while parts of the South East saw 20mm.
That was probably welcome rain for farmers and gardeners.
Heavy rain will continue to affect west Wales and the South West of England on Tuesday evening, where 24-hour totals could reach up to 75mm.
Most other places will be dry, but east Wales and central England will see slow moving heavy, perhaps thundery showers.
Parts of Ireland and Northern Ireland will turn wet overnight, with 20-30mm of rain possible there, locally up to 60mm on the hills.
Yellow weather warnings have been issued, with a risk of travel disruption and localised flooding.
Central and northern parts will see rain Wednesday, locally heavy, with showers more likely on Thursday.
Good Friday will see wind and rain moving in from the South West.
There is some uncertainty in the forecast for the rest of the Easter weekend, but overall low pressure looks to be in charge, bringing showers or longer spells of rain.
Western parts are likely to see the wettest and windiest conditions.
Day time temperatures will be rather disappointing under the rain too, but it shouldn’t feel too bad in any sunshine.
The unsettled conditions are likely to continue next week for those still on their Easter break, but there are signs that high pressure may return for the start of May!
The weather isn’t much better across southern Europe, with Storm Hans, named by the Italian Met Service, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and rough seas to parts of the Mediterranean over the next few days.
Northern Italy could see 200mm of rain, with amber and red weather warnings in place.
Weather warnings
There are two weather warnings in place across parts of the UK.
One, covering much of the South West and Wales, came into effect at midday on Tuesday, lasting until midday on Wednesday.
The second warning begins in the early hours of Wednesday morning, covering much of Northern Ireland, apart from western parts – with the cut-off point roughly being the country’s A29 road.
It lasts until 9pm on Wednesday evening.
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This comes after fire chiefs issued a number of wildfire warnings across the UK last week and the country may be on track to see its worst year for wildfires according to the latest data.
