Weather warning issued by Met Office as UK braces for heavy rain after warm spell

A yellow weather warning for rain has been issued across Wales and for parts of south-west England as the UK takes a turn for the worse after days of warm sunshine.

The Met Office is forecasting heavy rainfall from 12pm on Tuesday, with the warning in effect until midday on Wednesday.

The forecaster has warned that the downpour could lead to transport disruption and flooding, with spray and water on the road likely to increase journey times.

While it is uncertain where the heaviest rain will fall, it is expected that 20-40mm of rain will hit large parts of the country, while certain areas may see 50-75mm of rainfall.

It follows weeks of warm sunshine across the UK, with firefighters receiving reports of 380 wildfires so far this year, more than double the number during the same period in 2022.

Met Office spokesman Craig Snell said this week will be a “mixed bag”.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

While southeast England is expected to stay sunny on Monday, with highs of 20 degrees possible, central parts of the UK will be wet and cloudy.

From Tuesday, Mr Snell expects “plenty of wet weather”, particularly in England and Wales.

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.”

Here’s a look at the five day weather forecast:

Today:

Turning more unsettled this week, with rain at times.

Outbreaks of rain, perhaps heavy and thundery, will affect the south and east of Scotland, western parts of England and Wales, and the east of Northern Ireland. Warm sunshine to the southeast, turning hazy. Brighter, cooler and showery further northwest.

Tonight:

Rather cloudy in most areas with some showers, merging in places to give some longer spells of rain. Clearer spells in the northwest, allowing a patchy frost to form.

Tuesday:

Mostly fine in the northwest. Cloudier elsewhere with showers, perhaps heavy and thundery, merging to give more persistent rain in places. Warm in brighter breaks in the east. Otherwise cool.

Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:

Rain clearing away to the northeast on Wednesday to leave sunshine and showers heading into Thursday. Some more persistent outbreaks of rain developing again for many on Friday.