Sunny and dry weekend with highs of 24C

Weather to improve on Saturday

Britons can expect a largely dry and sunny weekend following days of heavy downpours and cloud brought on by the tail end of Storm Edouard.

Forecasters say it will remain showery and cool on Friday, but temperatures will begin to rise on Saturday and into Sunday, with highs of 24C expected in the southeast.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will see showers on Friday, while northern and eastern areas of England may be hit by thundery downpours, with the mercury struggling to get above 20C.

An area of high pressure coming in from the west overnight on Friday will bring warmer conditions on Saturday, although temperatures will still be lower than average for the time of year.

The best of the sunshine will be in Wales, southern and western England, especially around the coasts. Northern areas will be mostly cloudy and there will be a few showers in northern and western Scotland.

“Generally speaking, the further south and west you go the fewer showers you’ll see; a lot of dry weather and spells of sunshine,” said BBC meteorologist Ben Rich.

“The low pressure becomes centred across the south of the UK,” Mr Rich explained. “So that’s where we’ll see the best of the dry and largely sunny weather on Saturday. More cloud further north and maybe the odd shower.”

“Those temperatures still on the cool side for the time of year at 17C to 21C. But they will climb on Sunday, particularly for England and Wales, where we’ll see some sunny spells throughout the day.”

Sunday will be warm and mostly sunny in England and Wales, with highs of 24 expected in the southeast. Cloud and rain in Scotland and Northern Ireland will be accompanied by a fresh southwesterly breeze.

On Monday, outbreaks of rain will spread south-eastwards across the country but will become increasingly light and patchy with moderate winds.

Earlier this week, large parts of the UK were hit by heavy rain as the remnants of Storm Edouard brought and gloomy cloud and cool conditions.

The tropical storm originated in the US and made its way across the Atlantic during the week, reaching the British Isles by Thursday. Up to 50mm of rain fell in some parts of Wales.