Date warm weather will return according to experts as sun disappears tomorrow

The Midlands has been basking in sunshine this weekend, but next week temperatures are taking a dip as the cloud returns. The warmest day of the year so far was on Saturday, April 13 as the mercury hit 21.8°C at Writtle in Essex.

Temperatures are set to tumble as the drier spell of weather this weekend is predicted to be short-lived. The Met Office forecast shows rain on Monday in Birmingham and much of the rest of the country. The rest of the week there is little sunshine on the cards due to cloud covere.

This is due to high pressure retreating back westwards, meaning the last week of April will be cooler and showery according to forecasters at the BBC. They say "temperatures are expected to remain below or perhaps around the seasonal average across the UK" for the rest of April.

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But the BBC's long range forecast for May hints that more warmer temperatures and sunshine could be back. Forecasters say they think it will be average temperatures at first, before rising 'slightly above average in the second week of May'.

But they add: "There is also the possibility that conditions will calm down overall from the beginning of May and temperatures will continue to rise, with the area of high pressure over Scandinavia continuing to establish itself and bringing a warm and dry easterly flow."

BBC long range weather forecast in full

Monday April 22 – Sunday April 28

Uncertainty grows, remaining chilly

The next week remains uncertain but there are some signs that high pressure to the west or north of the UK is holding, which could lead to calmer and drier weather, particularly in the north and west. Near average temperatures are expected for much of the UK.

The other scenario sees high pressure retreating further west or north-west of the UK, restoring an overall more north-westerly or even northerly flow with changeable and generally cooler weather for a while. These conditions are generally more likely for eastern parts of the UK, as trough/low-pressure passages are more likely just further east over the North Sea and the European continent.

Monday April 29 to Sunday May 12

Calmer conditions may prevail

Confidence in the forecasts for late April and early May continues to decline as increasingly uncertain weather patterns develop. The global models are more or less assuming a build-up or continuation of high pressure near the UK and a trough over southern and central Europe (high-over-low pattern). At the same time the low pressure over central Europe could later extend to parts of southern England.

Temperatures are likely to be around average at first, with calmer and drier conditions expected mainly in the north and north-west, while the south could become wetter and windier. Temperatures could rise slightly above average in the second week of May.

There is also the possibility that conditions will calm down overall from the beginning of May and temperatures will continue to rise, with the area of high pressure over Scandinavia continuing to establish itself and bringing a warm and dry easterly flow.