UK weather forecast: Britain to be lashed with 'torrential' downpours after 26C scorcher

Britain is braced for a washout this weekend as downpours are set to bring an abrupt end to the recent sunny spell.

Torrential rain will lash large parts of England and Wales on Saturday, driving sunseekers indoors and bringing a flooding risk for some areas.

The deluge may not spell total misery for thousands of families on a staycation getaway, with temperatures set to soar again to 26C in the capital.

But the tropical combination of a rising mercury with downpours is set to bring thunderstorms.

Met Office forecaster Becky Mitchell said the weekend presents a “messy picture”, with widespread cloud cover but “warm sunshine” in the home counties, especially in eastern areas.

“Tonight looks to be dry and cloudy for most places, it’s quite a mild night as well with temperatures perhaps not falling below 17C in the south-east,” she told the Standard.

“Come Friday daytime, it’s a cloudy start for most but turning brighter in the afternoon and we could see temps of 26C in London, so quite warm in the sunshine with cloudy intervals.

“On Friday evening we start to see rain move in from the west and that could be heavy at times. Overnight that rain wil spread across all parts of the UK.”

Come Saturday the wet weather looks set to be firmly deluging most places with “outbreaks of heavy rain” and “scattered showers” throughout the afternoon, with some areas at a risk of thunderstorm, Ms Mitchell said.

“The sunshine could get to 25C in the Midlands on Saturday, but if you catch a heavy downpour it will be torrential with thunder.”

The Environment Agency has issued one flood alert for the Rivers Esk and Irthing in North Yorkshire and Cumbria respectively, but no Met Office weather alerts have been issued yet.

Things will calm down on Sunday, however. Ms Mitchell added: “It’s a picture of sunshine and showers on Sunday, more settled. It could reach about 23C in the south-east. It’s feeling quite a bit cooler in Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

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