Wet Weather To Follow Hottest Day Of The Year

Many Britons who were basking in the warmest temperatures of the year so far will be reaching for their umbrellas today as rain clouds roll in.

A man carries an umbrella in front of Britain's Houses of Parliament and Big Ben clock tower

A man carries an umbrella outside the Houses of Parliament

Yesterday was the hottest day of 2009 with temperatures climbing to 25C (77F).

The weather in central London was on a par with the French Riviera and much of the country enjoyed sunshine.

But forecasters said many places will see showers and downpours today.

Sky News Meteorologist Chris England said: “Cloud will cross the South West early with rain by 9am, spreading through to the North throughout the day with another belt of rain coming south across Scotland and Ireland.

“But it will be very warm in the south east – 26/27C,” he said.

Yesterday’s top temperature came in Clerkenwell, central London, at 3pm, where it was as warm as Nice and just one degree below Malaga in southern Spain.

Millions of holidaymakers and day trippers flocked to coastal resorts to enjoy the weather.

Around 1.8 million Britons are thought to have travelled abroad over the Bank Holiday.

The roads should be relatively quiet today with the half-term week across much of the country meaning many people have taken the rest of the week off.

Jill Houghton, PR manager for TrafficMaster which measures congestion on the roads, said: “Friday was the busiest day and it has been pretty quiet since.

“Today we would expect to see some traffic back on the roads but because it is the half-term it will probably be spread out through the week.”

[ Source: Sky News ]

Popularity: 1% [?]