Hold on to your brolly for a soggy Easter Sunday
Weather forecasters are predicting a rainy Easter Sunday for most of England and Wales, as the dry and sunny start to the Bank Holiday weekend comes to an end.
Forecasters are warning that outdoor Easter Sunday celebrations should be brought forward to the morning, as heavy showers and even thunder is expected in some parts of England and Wales by the afternoon.
Rain is forecast to spread from the south east of England across central and southern areas and most of Wales by the afternoon.
Most of the UK has enjoyed a spell of warm weather in April, but the bad weather is back for the peak of the bank holiday weekend.
However, Scotland can count itself lucky: it is forecast to have the best of the conditions for the rest of the long weekend, while the north of England and Northern Ireland are also expected to remain dry tomorrow.
It’s going downhill across southern areas of the country Chris Burton
MeteoGroup forecaster Chris Burton said: “It will stay dry and fine on Sunday across Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England and the far north of Wales.
“But it’s going downhill across southern areas of the country. There will be showers spreading northwards from the south east of England. It will be quite heavy across southern and central areas and we may see some thunder.
“On Monday, Scotland escapes the worst but it will be fairly cloudy across the rest of the country with showery outbreaks. Scotland is getting the best of the weather for the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend.”
Temperatures across the UK tomorrow are expected to range from 11 to 15C, while on Monday, the mercury could rise to 18C in places, Mr Burton said.
Read more from Weather Presenter Liam Dutton: Mixed fortunes for Easter weekend
Travel woes
Travellers planning their return journey home will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the disruption which faced Channel Tunnel passengers who endured a nightmare start to their holiday.
Two separate incidents led to more than a dozen train cancellations on Thursday, after a broken-down train and a technical fault affected those taking Channel Tunnel shuttle trains on the Folkestone-Calais route and high-speed Eurostar services between London and Paris and Brussels.
An estimated 3.4m people are taking a holiday in Britain this Easter, while about 1.6m are thought to be having an overseas break. As well as those having trips involving at least an overnight stay, an estimated 6.5m Britons are likely to take day trips over the holiday.
