I overheard someone yesterday declare “This weather is CRAZY!” as we all looked at and listened to the sudden gusty hail shower that had appeared to interrupt the evening sunshine. I wanted to explain, it’s not crazy, it’s just one cell of a shower, reaching upwards in the unstable air, blown along on the wind that dumps rain or hail across that one spot and can miss the house 1 mile down the road all together. That lump of cloud blots out the sun temporarily, making it cooler along with the rain and then it moves on and the dry, bright weather reappears. But actually, in that moment, as the quiet had been so violently interrupted, the door blown open, everyone gawping, shouting about open windows, “I’m not going out in that” and were entranced by the tiny white bouncing stones, I thought ‘Yes, that’s a bit crazy’.

The showers today aren’t as widespread and more areas will stay dry. NW England, particularly Cheshire has numerous showers this morning, with other western parts seeing scattered showers. There is a moderate to fresh NW wind still making it feel cool in the breeze and shade. Through the day the showers ease off for NW England but there will be a scattering for eastern England in the afternoon with the odd sharp downpour. Still the chance of a rumble of thunder in the east but not the continual action of yesterday. For a lot of Britain it will be a fair. A bright day with sunny spells; central and eastern England seeing quite a lot of cloud. Eastern Britain should reach 13 or 14C, the far SE will be cooler at 12C. Western England around 9 to 12C with Wales around 11C, Cardiff up to 14C. N.Ireland will start off okay but a frontal band will move west to east today, bringing more cloud and patchy rain for a time. Temperatures will be around 10 to 12C with the wind backing to the West later.

Showers in the east.



This evening there will be isolated hefty showers lingering for North Sea counties and the frontal patchy rain will be through the Irish Sea and over west & north Scotland. In between there will be some breaks in the cloud as temperatures dip to 5 or 6C. Northern Scotland turns wet and windy.

For much of the UK, Thursday will be a more settled and warmer day. With sunny spells and warmer air creeping in from the SW, it will feel more like late May. There will be weather fronts near to northern Britain, bringing some heavy and persistent rain to NW Scotland and more cloud with a little patchy rain just clipping N.Ireland, maybe into Strathclyde and also over NE Scotland. Winds in the north remain fresh and westerly but should be lighter for southern Britain. Belfast and Birmingham up to 16C, London around 19C, 15C for Norwich Hull and Aberdeen. Just a bit cooler for some western facing coasts.