UK weather: Temperatures set to plunge as heatwave comes to an end
Written by News on 28/06/2020
Forecasters have warned temperatures will plummet over the weekend as wind and rain brings the June heatwave to a halt.
Parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland face a risk of flooding due to “heavy showers and prolonged rain”, The Met Office said.
Much of England and Wales will see showers, with temperatures expected to be between 19C and 21C (69.8F).
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said “most places” would see rain at some point and that it would become “more persistent” in western Scotland and Northern Ireland.
He said: “Further south there will be some drier interludes, some sunshine even. It is in the South where the best of the drier weather will be at times.
“For all areas it is going to be breezy and it will feel much cooler, with temperatures 10C or so lower than on Friday afternoon.”
A yellow weather warning was issued by the Met Office for rain for most of Scotland and Northern Ireland between 9am and 10pm on Saturday.
Up to 40mm of rain could hit the areas covered by warning over a “few hours”.
Rain and gusts of up to 50mph are forecast to hit coastal areas in north Wales and north west England on Sunday, while it is set to remain “breezy” further inland, Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said.
The south of England is expected to see temperatures of between 20C to 21C (69.8F) on Sunday, while they could drop to 14C to 15C (59F) in the North and in Scotland.
The UK experienced its hottest day of the year so far on Thursday, with 33.4C (92.1F) recorded at Heathrow Airport in west London.
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While temperatures remained high in London on Friday, with 31.2C (88.16F) recorded at Kew Gardens, parts of northern England were hit by thunderstorms, rain and hail.
Photographs on social media showed people in Leeds and Sheffield holding handfuls of large hail stones which fell on Friday evening.
Meteorologist Mr Snell said: “Usually in the winter when we have hail it is quite small, but this time of the year, because the heat gives the thunderstorms more energy and helps keep the hail stones up in the clouds for longer, they get to grow more and then fall from the sky.”
(c) Sky News 2020: UK weather: Temperatures set to plunge as heatwave comes to an end
