Thundery deluge to hit UK, warns Met Office as Easter hols end in washout – but sunshine could soon be making a return

THE Easter holiday is set to end in a washout as Brits are told to brace for thunder and rain, according to the Met Office.

As the bank holidays wrap up, any late celebrations will be met with downpours and drizzle.

AlamyBrits have been warned to brace for rain over the next week[/caption] The Met Office warned that showers are ‘bubbling up’ PAThe downpours come after a wet bank holiday weekend for many[/caption]

Yesterday temperatures were in the double digits, with Belfast and Newcastle at 10C and London and Plymouth at 13C.

The Met Office said despite mild temperatures, the warmer weather was twinned with showers and storms in some regions.

The forecaster said: “Easter Monday starts bright in some eastern and northeastern areas.

“Showery outbreaks of rain elsewhere, locally heavy with some thunder possible.”

The Environment agency issued seven flood alerts in the south with warnings for areas near Luton, Newbury and Winchester.

The agency said that local surface water flooding is possible but not expected in parts of South West England on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It warned: “Land, roads and some properties may flood and there may be travel disruption.”

Chester and Southampton may be at risk of thunderstorms developing and the wet weather is warned to stick with us until the end of the week.

Up to 25 to 50mm of rainfall might be spotted in Northern Ireland, Wales, the West Midlands and southwest England over the next few days.

Grey skies and spots of rain remain in the northeast but as we move into Tuesday some regions will see the April sun.

This morning many woke up to the sun shining, despite the cold temperatures, as rays of sunshine fall on parts of the UK.

However, the Met Office said showers are quickly “bubbling up.”

Met Office operational meteorologist Dan Stroud said: “For many, Tuesday actually starts on a dry and bright note.

“We’ve got the legacy of Monday’s rain still hanging on to the extreme north and east of Scotland but then it’s all eyes to the west as a fairly deep area of low pressure approaches.

“So cloud and outbreaks of heavy rain will spread in from the west during the course of Tuesday.”

The sunshine should return slowly as the weather is set to “gradually improve” as we move on from a soggy weekend.

Early rain will make a swift exit from southeast England, paving the way for a mix of sunshine and dry spells but a shower or two could pop up this afternoon.

Looking ahead, Thursday is set to be a scorcher with plenty of sunny spells, but Friday brings a damp twist for northwestern parts of the UK, easing off by Saturday.

The forecast agency has predicted nationwide showers continuing throughout the month with some weather warnings in place.

Yet, within a few weeks dry and sunny conditions could be making a return.

The month of May could even see temperatures “near or slightly above average”.

Hopefully, these will go beyond the 24C that has currently been recorded as the warmest day this year.

The warm weather comes after a wet weekend as Easter holiday plans were set to be ruined after the Met Office issued a yellow warning for torrential rain.

Travellers were also met with difficulties this Easter due to the closure of a major line to London.

Flights were affected as strike action hit Gatwick Airport and rail passengers faced further disruption as Network Rail began its Easter engineering work.

Traffic was set to be at its highest level in three years for the holiday period, with a whopping 19 million travellers expected to make journeys, according to the RAC.

Rainy patches are set to appear over the UK this week