Bank holiday weather: Blue skies bring sunshine and potential for hottest day of year

People may get caught out in high UV levels, Met Office warns

The UK will be bathed in sunshine beaming through blue skies over the bank holiday weekend.

The country could see the hottest day of the year so far, as temperatures in London may reach highs of 23C on Saturday, while Manchester and Liverpool could bask in 24C warmth on Sunday.

Monday will also bring sunshine, with the mercury forecast to climb to 25C, meaning it would surpass the current 2021 high of 24.5C recorded in Kew Gardens on 31 March.

It comes as motorists were warned that the sunny weather and easing of coronavirus restrictions could lead to a “sudden surge” in traffic over the bank holiday weekend.

RAC research suggests 11 million car journeys are to be made across the UK over the long weekend, with traffic expected to peak on Saturday and Monday.

Monday will be the first public holiday since Covid rules were relaxed earlier this month and also marks the beginning of the half-term break for most schools.

The pleasant weather provides a welcome contrast to the rain that has soaked the UK since the start of the month.

Britain has had its fourth wettest May on record, with an average of 199mm falling, according to the Met Office’s early provisional stats, and a few days still to go.

The wettest locations, experiencing more than twice the average rainfall, were southwest and northeast England, Wales and parts of eastern Scotland.

Parts of Scotland and northern England even saw snow at the beginning of the month when temperatures of -5.5C were recorded.

The Met Office said the often dull and wet conditions resulted in subdued temperatures across the board.

Wales, Scotland and the UK as a whole are currently seeing May’s average maximum temperatures in their 10 lowest Mays ever recorded.

Forecasters said the settled and warm bank holiday weather could well see this position change in the final statistics.

Met Office forecaster Matthew Box said: “It’s obviously a welcome change I think for many.

“Given that we have had a reasonably cold and then a wet couple of months through spring, with April being cold and May being wet and cloudy and generally on the cool side too, we’ve got a sunny end to May.

“It might catch a few people out given that we haven’t seen much sun and UV levels are going to be quite high over the weekend as well so that’s something to be aware of.”

Additional reporting by PA