UK weather: May could be one of wettest on record as more rain is forecast

Met Office says 91% of May’s expected rain fell i first two weeks

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Britain is set for a particularly wet May, with more showers forecast for the week ahead, making the return of indoor meetings in England particularly welcome.

As millions enjoyed the latest stage of lockdown easing, thundery showers were on the radasr in many areas.

And the UK is still set for a particularly wet May, with more showers forecast for the week ahead, making the return of indoor meetings in some parts of the country particularly welcome.

Met Office forecaster Steven Keates said that the UK is in for a “notably wet month”.

“If you were to extrapolate what we’ve had so far and say the second half of the month was similar to the first, then you would probably be challenging a record wet May,” he said.

“On the basis that a fair amount of rain is probably quite likely over the next couple of weeks, it’s probably going to be up there.”

By Friday, the UK had already experienced 91 per cent of the expected rainfall for the entire month, with 63.5mm having already fallen. The wettest May on record was in 1967, when 131.7mm of rain fell across the month.

Although Tuesday is forecast to begin largely dry and bright, with some showers across the Western Isles and western parts of England, heavy rain and thunder is expected across the UK after midday.

Showers will develop across much of Scotland, southern England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the afternoon, with some becoming storms. The north of England can, however, expect sun.

Showers are likely to continue intermittently on Wednesday and Thursday across the UK and particularly in Scotland, where heavy rain is expected.

But there are “some tentative glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel” in June, according to Mr Keates.

“There are hints as we move towards the turn of the month into June of perhaps a bit of a dry trend,” he said.