UK weather: Heavy downpours and chilly winds set to lash Britain, forecasters warn

Met Office says ‘prolonged periods of rain’ in store during week ahead

Heavy rain and chilly gusts are set to sweep across large parts of the UK on Sunday, with forecasters warning wet and windy conditions will become more widespread next week.

Showers will lash the eastern side of Britain today, with northern England and southern Scotland expected to see the worst of the downpours.

Elsewhere it is expected to stay dry and cloudy on Sunday, but much of the country will feel chilly in the northeasterly wind.

“We’ve got a wind bringing showers to eastern parts, otherwise it’s a cloudy day with some places staying dry,” said Met Office meteorologist Sophie Yeomans.

“Temperatures on Sunday will be around average for this time of year with highs of 9C, scraping 10C,” she added.

Monday is expected to be a similar day to Sunday, but the weather will grow steadily more unsettled as the week progresses, with heavy showers and gales likely in some places.

An area of low pressure is expected to arrive from the west on Wednesday, bringing wet and windy conditions.

“Into Monday it’s a similar set up as Sunday,” said Ms Yeomans. “Eastern parts of the UK will see a few showers coming through, some quite heavy, but it will be a mainly dry day elsewhere for central and western areas.

“The middle part of the week will turn a little more unsettled than we’ve had recently, with prolonged periods of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday and some areas will catch a fair amount of rain.”

The forecaster said it was too soon for the Met Office to put weather warnings in place as details of conditions later in the week remain uncertain.

Flood warnings were in place for southwest England on Saturday as forecasters predicted up to 50mm in just 24 hours across Devon and Cornwall.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for rain in the region on Saturday.