Rain or shine this bank holiday weekend?

The final bank holiday weekend of 2012 is upon us and after the summer we’ve had, it would be a huge relief if the weather could offer us something in return for the perpetual downpours that have graced our shores.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple and once again I bring you the news that rather than heat and sunshine, it’s looking cool with plenty of heavy showers.

The cause of the forthcoming bout of unsettled weather is the jet stream. Not only will it sit to the south of us this weekend, it will also speed up. This will help low pressure systems to form and steer them across the UK, bringing all of us an unsettled weekend.

However, whilst the general theme is unsettled, it won’t be raining all the time. In between any showers or bands of rain, there will be some sunshine.

Another common theme this weekend is that it will feel cool with temperatures in the range of 14-20C, dipping further as any downpours come along.

Saturday

Saturday looks like the liveliest day of the bank holiday weekend, with an area of low pressure sitting right over the UK.

This will encourage air to rise forming a lot of cloud bringing showers or longer spells of rain, which at times will be heavy with some thunder mixed in.

Towards the centre of the low pressure there will be little wind, so showers over Wales and central England are likely to be slow moving and give a risk of localised flooding.

Elsewhere there’ll be more of a brisk breeze pushing the showers through with spells of sunshine in between.

Sunday

At the moment, Sunday is looking better than Saturday. Whilst there will be some showers across central and eastern areas, they will tend to fade away through the day as a ridge of high pressure builds in from the west.

Despite most places having a reasonably fine afternoon, the north westerly breeze will make it feel distinctly cool – especially for coastal areas.

Bank holiday Monday

This is the most uncertain day of the bank holiday weekend. At the moment, it looks like an area of low pressure will move in off the Atlantic during the day.

The latest forecast has the rain reaching Northern Ireland, Wales and western parts of England and Scotland by midday with places further east staying dry and bright.

However, given the level of uncertainty, the timing of the rain’s arrival could easily change in the coming days, so keep an eye on the Channel 4 Weather website for the latest forecast.