The weather is on course for a silver medal this week

This weekend has seen some pretty lively weather across the UK, with plenty of thunderstorms and a few funnel clouds too – here’s one that was photographed over Wakefield in West Yorkshire.

Low pressure has been hovering over us in recent days and with daytime heating from the sun, air has readily risen rapidly to form cumulonimbus clouds giving torrential downpours.

An additional problem is that the winds have been very light, so any torrential downpours tended to linger over one location for a considerable period of time leading to some localised flash flooding.

The weather looks pretty mixed for the first part of this week, but from midweek onwards high pressure will build, bringing most of us a spell of sunnier and warmer weather – something that I hinted at in a blog I wrote last Friday.

Next few days

Low pressure will mean further showers during Monday and Tuesday, with a longer spell of rain developing across southern parts of England and Wales.

Once again, some of the showers could be quite heavy, with hail and thunder mixed in, accompanied by a gusty wind.

Temperatures are also likely to be around average, with 15-18C for Scotland and Northern Ireland. England and Wales will see highs in the range of 17-21C.

Midweek onwards

On Wednesday, high pressure will start to dominate the weather over the UK. As a result, it’ll become much more settled, with light winds, sunshine and higher temperatures everywhere.

The remnants of a weather front from Tuesday across England and Wales may give more clouds than sunshine on Wednesday, but by Thursday the balance should be tipped in favour of more sunshine than clouds.

Temperatures are likely to be highest across central and eastern parts of England at 24-26C, but even for the rest of the UK they’ll reach 19-24C.

How long will it last?

It looks like the fine weather will last until Saturday for most places. During Sunday cooler air trying to move in from the west could produce some showers and thunderstorms as it interacts with warm, humid air.

However, it is worth noting that there is some uncertainty with regards to when the cooler air will arrive, so stay tuned for updates through this week.

The latest five day forecast is always available on the Channel 4 Weather website and you can follow my weather updates on Twitter – @liamdutton