Met Office daily weather: Thunderstorms and staying warm

Parts of England and Wales should brace for a mix of sunshine and thunderstorms as the weather takes a dramatic turn.

The risk of thunderstorms extends widely across these regions, with a yellow weather warning in place from 12 noon. These storms could bring heavy rain, local hail, and gusty winds, particularly in the afternoon. Despite the unsettled conditions, temperatures are expected to remain warm, with highs of 25-26°C in areas such as the North Midlands, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire. Some locations, including Cheshire, North Wales, and Northwest England, could see temperatures reaching up to 27°C.

In contrast, Western Scotland and Northern Ireland will experience cooler conditions, with rain gradually turning to showers throughout the day. The far south of England will see sporadic rain and showers dying out, making way for sunny spells. By Monday night, the showers and thunderstorms will subside, leading to clear spells for many areas. However, patchy low cloud and isolated fog may develop, especially in the northeast.

Outlook for Tuesday

As we move into Tuesday, fine weather resumes for most regions by midweek. Southern England and South Wales will enjoy sunny spells, although heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms may still develop. The far north of Scotland will see cloudier skies with some drizzle, while the rest of the UK remains dry with plenty of sunshine. Low cloud near North Sea coasts from Northeast England northwards could persist, accompanied by a brisk easterly breeze that will keep coastal areas cooler.

Temperatures on Tuesday will be highest in the south and west, with highs of 23-25°C and isolated spots potentially reaching 27°C, particularly in sheltered areas of Western Scotland. Tuesday night will see showers in the south dying out, leaving most areas dry with clear spells. Low cloud, mist, and patchy fog may affect Northern and Eastern Scotland and parts of Northeast England.

Jonathan Vautrey, Met Office presenter and meteorologist, said: "It is slightly mixed fortunes as we start off this new working week. A little misty along eastern coastal areas of Scotland where there is some low cloud around. This will tend to burn back as we do move throughout the day. It's wetter out towards western Scotland and parts of eastern Northern Ireland. But again, that rain will tend to ease as we do move throughout Monday.

“A fine start across England and Wales. Some bright and sunny spells in there. But as we head later on into the morning and particularly into the afternoon, we're going to see some scattered spring showers developing fairly widely. Those could develop across even as far north as northwest England into southwest Scotland throughout the day.

“But the focus for the heaviest ones really is from London through the Midlands up into Wales northern coasts of the West Country. They are going to be hit and miss, but, where they do occur, they have the potential to bring torrential downpours of rain, lightning, hail, and some strong gusty winds around at times.

“But because these downpours will be so torrential and very sharp, they do have the potential to provide some localized flooding in places because that rain will run off very quickly on the dry ground. If you manage to avoid them though, and particularly across eastern areas where it is likely to stay dry for a good portion of the day, it is going to be very warm for the time of year.

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“Highs of 24-25°C across a good portion of central and eastern England. That touch more cloud around across Northern Ireland and Scotland will keep things more around the mid to high teens here.

“It could take until late in the evening for these showers and thunderstorms to really ease off, but eventually they will begin to die out as we head into the evening and overnight period. And the second half of the night is looking largely dry for the vast majority of us.

“There'll be some mist developing once again. Some cloud lingering across the far north of Scotland and low cloud again just pushing into eastern parts where that breeze is coming in off the North Sea. It's also the east that is probably likely to turn the chilliest overnight into low single figures for towns and cities. And there's a small chance of some very patchy frost, particularly for northeastern Scotland first thing on Tuesday morning.

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“But if you are further towards the west or the south, it's going to be a milder affair. Temperatures holding up around double digit figures for most of us here. And with the dry conditions around first thing and plentiful amounts of sunshine, that should be a fine start to the day for most. That cloud will persist across the far north of Scotland throughout the day but elsewhere not too bad at all. Some further showers and thunderstorms developing tomorrow but these are going to be much more confined towards areas of southern Wales and southwest England. So fewer of us are likely to be seeing them.

“But otherwise, a largely fine day for most. And temperatures again responding to that sunshine, particularly for Northern Ireland and central Scotland where we have more sunshine around tomorrow. We're more likely to be seeing those values of 21-22°C still across northwestern England through central areas down towards London as well. It’ll be that little bit fresher along eastern coastal areas of England now where that breeze is just a little bit more persistent coming in off the North Sea."

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