Hail, thunder and wind will batter parts of Britain as the May Day Bank Holiday weekend gets off to a disappointing start on Saturday – but much of the country is set to bask in blue skies as things improve over the next couple of days.

Large swathes of the east coast – from the north of Scotland down to southern East Anglia – will be hit by showers, possible lightening and even some snow around the northern most tip of the UK, the Met Office said.

But for Wales, western England and central regions, things will be bright, calm and sunny for most of the weekend.

“It’s largely a very settled picture,” forecaster Simon Partridge told The Independent. “Largely, the three days will be fine and bright with temperatures reaching around 13-14C in England and Wales, and 8-10C in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Then the nights will be colder and clearer with frost.

“Even on the east coast, after that band of bad weather has passed over, things will settle by Saturday night.”

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He added that, while there may be showers on Sunday and Monday, it was unlikely. “It’s not out the question but you’d be unlucky to see rain,” he said.

Sunday will be better of the two days with blue skies across most of the country.

Overnight will see the mercury plummet to a teeth-chattering -4C in some parts of the country with areas of north Wales potentially in line to experience their coldest ever start to a May Day.

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“Cold coming in from the Arctic combined with clear skies and light air will make it particularly cold everywhere,” said Mr Partridge. In Wales, he added, the previous record low of -3.5C could potentially be beaten.

But as the sun rises, the day will warm up with most places across England and Wales enjoying temperatures of 13C once again.