UK weather set to improve this weekend after April thunderstorms

Weekend travel, outdoor events and household plans got a better outlook as the Met Office said showery rain on Saturday would ease and much of the UK would see sunshine return after a wet, thunderous spell.

Simon King said the weather was beginning to settle down, and the national forecast pointed to clear or sunny spells across much of the country on Saturday, especially in central and southern regions. Northern areas were still set to face showers, some of them heavy, with isolated thunderstorms possible. Temperatures were forecast to hover around 10C in the north and 14C in the south, keeping conditions mild for mid-April rather than warm.

Wales was expected to see the first clear improvement on Friday, with wet and windy weather moving east and rain clearing through the day. Highs around 15C were forecast as winds eased, giving the country a cleaner start to the weekend than the rest of the UK.

The Met Office warnings page showed no active UK weather warnings from Thursday 16 April through Wednesday 22 April, although the page noted that warnings can be out of date. That calmer outlook followed an unsettled start to April, including Storm Dave, which the Met Office named before the windy Easter weekend and which brought yellow wind warnings across Scotland, Northern Ireland, north Wales and parts of northern England.

The warmer spell earlier in the week was not unusual for the time of year, the Met Office said, even if it felt like a sharp shift after recent rain. The UK has recorded 25C in early April before, including in 2011 and 2020. The immediate forecast suggests a drier, brighter window for many areas, with the best conditions first in central and southern Britain and a less settled picture lingering farther north before the pattern turns calmer into next week.