Met Office forecasts say skies are about to flip from bliss to bruising, as a quiet front creeps in.
Rain is set to hit Manchester over next 36 hours (Image: Getty)
- Heatwave Breakdown Commences: The UK’s recent record-breaking May heatwave—which culminated in a provisionally record-setting 35C day at Kew Gardens—is beginning to collapse. Forecasters state the prolonged hot spell will gradually reduce in its overall intensity over the coming hours as a weak cold front steadily establishes itself across the country.
- Sudden Friday Shift: Weather patterns will take a sudden shift on Friday, with 25 distinct regions in the UK mapped to experience rain showers. Cooler and more refreshed air will move into the north by midday, hitting cities like Glasgow and Inverness with heavy downpours, while parts of the south remain warm.
- Changeable Saturday Weather: The Met Office notes that conditions will turn significantly more changeable into the weekend. While Saturday will start bright for some eastern and southeastern locations, outbreaks of rain will push in from the west and move eastward, bringing a definitive end to the continuous dry, glorious sunshine.
- Targeted Saturday Deluges: Specific regions are highlighted to face the brunt of the weekend’s wet weather. The Met Office has explicitly named five areas set for heavy rain on Saturday: Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire, with the heaviest overall downpours concentrated across the broader northwest.
- Divided Regional Conditions: A distinct north-south divide will persist across the weekend as the cold front tracks southeast. Temperatures will fall back near average in the damp northwest, but southeastern England will stay largely dry and cling to above-average temperatures before the broader unsettled weather extends into next week.
