Warm UK weather to come to an end with hail, thunderstorms and heavy rain forecast

The UK’s run of warm spring weather has come to an abrupt end, as the Met Office forecasts hail, thunder and heavy rain in the days ahead.

Britons soaked up the last of the sun over the weekend, with Saturday marking the hottest day of the year so far as temperatures soared to 24C.

But the sunny spell has now subsided, making way for more unsettled weather in the week ahead.

As rain began to fall across the UK on Sunday, the Met Office said showers could continue into the evening with “perhaps with some hail and thunder at times” in the West.

The forecasters said a “more organised band of showers” will move eastwards across parts of Britain on Monday, alongside some “heavy rain with a risk of thunder”.

Met Office spokesperson Craig Snell said next week will be a “mixed bag”.

He said: “It is going to be a more changeable week this week compared to what we have been used to for the last two to three weeks.

“High pressure has gone away now and we’re just going to be firmly under the influence of low pressure as we go through the week ahead.

“It’s not going to be a complete washout – we will see some further sunnier moments, but most of the UK will see some rain at some point.

“Compared to the day-on-day blue skies we had last week it is going to feel very different during the week ahead.”

Mr Snell expects “plenty of wet weather” from Tuesday, particularly in England and Wales. Snow is also likely across mountaintops, mainly in Scotland, but it may drift into the northern Pennines.

Towards the end of the week and into the long Easter weekend, Mr Snell said it would become a “changeable picture”.

“Some places will see rain, others some sunshine, depending on where you are in the UK on Thursday and Friday one day will be wetter than the other,” he said.

“Not cold by any means, but compared to the first week of the Easter holidays, the second week does look like a bit more of a mixed bag across the UK.”

After a prolonged dry spell, the rain will be welcome for some after the UK saw temperatures far above the average for April in recent weeks.

The warm weather has come alongside hayfever risks, with swathes of England and Wales having been warned of "very high" pollen levels over the weekend due to birch and ash tree pollen.