UK weather: Wet week ahead as UK's lockdown eases

15 May 2021, 19:37 | Updated: 15 May 2021, 19:40

Rain showers have been forecast for the week ahead as the UK looks forward to the next round of lockdown easing.

From Monday, hospitality in England will be allowed to reopen further, with indoor restaurants and entertainment venues permitted to throw open their doors for the first time since the third national lockdown was brought in on 5 January.

Family and friends will be permitted to meet indoors again for the first time, and crucially, allowed to hug one another again.

Scotland and Wales will also both easing some of their lockdown measures, with hospitality opening in Wales and non-essential shops opening.

But the forecast for theses reunions are set to be damp, with Met Office forecaster Steven Keates saying it will be a "notably wet month".

Explained: What you need to know about lockdown easing in England

By Friday there had been 91% of the expected rainfall for the entire month, with 63.5mm having fallen already.

The wettest May on record was in 1967, when 131.7mm of rain fell across the UK.

He said: "If you were to extrapolate what we've had so far and say the second half of the month was similar to the first, then you would probably be challenging a record wet May.

"On the basis that a fair amount of rain is probably quite likely over the next couple of weeks, it's probably going to be up there."

Monday, when pubs and restaurants can reopen indoors in England, will be a day of sunshine and showers, he said.

"It's sunglasses one minute and umbrellas the next," he added.

There are likely to be heavy showers with a risk of thunder "up and down the country", he said.

He added: "So if you can go in, it might be the best option."

There is hope for drier weather as spring comes to an end.

"There are hints, however, as we move towards the turn of the month into June of perhaps a bit of a dry trend," said Mr Keates.

"So some tentative glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel."