UK weather forecast today – Met office warnings in place across UK as heavy rain and strong winds to batter Britain

MET OFFICE '4CAST' FOR SUNDAY: 'DRIER BUT SOME RAIN IN PLACES'

BRITS ENJOYED SPRING FREEDOM TODAY AS TEMPS SOARED TO 16C

BRITS hit parks and beaches today as temperatures soared to 16C across the UK in the first taste of spring freedom after winter lockdown misery.

And the winter snow, ice, and frost may be behind us, with the warm weather set to stay all week across parts of southern England because of a Sahara dust plume.

Read more here.

DUST PLUME ‘MAY NOT BE VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE’

Mark Parrington, Senior Scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said: “It is not yet certain to what extent the plume will be visible to the naked eye.

“Dust plumes from the desert can cause red skies, limited visibility or stains on cars and windows from dust deposition, but these impacts are difficult to predict quantitatively as far as 4 or 5 days in advance.”

FIVE DAY WEATHER FORECAST

Today:

Western and northern areas seeing persistent, sometimes heavy rainfall, especially over hills, although the far northwest clearer with showers for a time. Heavy rain returning here later, with coastal gales. Eastern and southeastern areas drier, breezy and very mild.

Tonight:

Severe gales clipping northwest Scotland early in the night, followed by clear spells and showers. Elsewhere rain in the west easing, confined to southeast England later, where staying very mild.

Sunday:

Rain, mostly light, across southeastern areas of England, probably edging westwards later. Showery in the northwest with some sunny intervals, but a wedge of fine weather in between these areas.

Outlook for Monday to Wednesday:

Monday, cloud with some rain across the south, brighter elsewhere with showers in the far north-west. Tuesday/Wednesday, turning much more unsettled in the west/north-west, drier and very mild further east/south-east.

SUNDAY TO START ON A CLOUDY AND DAMP NOTE, SAYS MET OFFICE

MASS FLOOD WARNINGS IN WALES

There are 23 flood warnings and 41 flood alerts currently in place in Wales.

It follows spells of heavy rain in much of the country.

MAPPED: WHERE IS THE SAHARAN PLUME?

FLOOD WARNINGS IN SCOTLAND

There are 35 flood warnings and 10 flood alerts currently in place in Scotland.

It follows spells of heavy rain in much of the country.

EXPLAINER: HOW TO GET AN EXTRA £25 DURING COLD WEATHER

Brits are entitled to an extra £25 to help heat their home when the temperature in their area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees or below for seven consecutive days on average.

You can check if your area has had a cold weather payment by popping your postcode into the government’s tool.

If you’re eligible, you should receive payments within 14 working days.

This year’s cold weather payment scheme will run from November 1, 2020, until March 31, 2021.

MAPPED: SIX YELLOW AND AMBER RAIN WARNINGS ACROSS UK

TEMPERATURES SOARED TO 16C IN THE SOUTH TODAY

Temperatures hit a balmy 16C today with southern Brits taking the opportunity to get outside and stretch their legs after months of cold weather during lockdown.

The warm weather is a stark contrast to this day last week which saw freezing rain, treacherous ice and 80mph gusts.

The last time temperatures hit highs of 16C was November 18 last year in London - and the hottest day since was February 2, where 14.2C was recorded in Cardiff.

Mark Parrington, Senior Scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service comments: “We monitored similar events in the past weeks with significant air quality impacts in the affected regions, which were confirmed by surface measurements from the countries gathered by the European Environment Agency.

"We expect this will also be the case for the upcoming event, although it is not yet certain to what extent the plume will be visible to the naked eye.

BRITS ENJOYED SPRING FREEDOM TODAY AS TEMPS SOARED TO 16C

BRITS hit parks and beaches today as temperatures soared to 16C across the UK in the first taste of spring freedom after winter lockdown misery.

And the winter snow, ice, and frost may be behind us, with the warm weather set to stay all week across parts of southern England because of a Sahara dust plume.

Read more here.

A MONTHS WORTH OF RAIN IN JUST 24 HOURS

Heavy rainfall has blocked railway lines and triggered a host of flood alerts as some parts of the UK were hit by more than a month’s worth of rain in a 26-hour period.

A stretch of six Met Office weather warnings covering mostly western areas from Scotland south to Plymouth are in place this weekend as forecasters predict more wet conditions.

Senior meteorologist Marco Petagna said 127.6mm of rain fell at Llyn-y-Fan, Carmarthenshire, South Wales, between 6am on Friday and 8am on Saturday, and 115mm dropped at Treherbert in Mid-Glamorgan.

Mr Petagna said the average rainfall for the whole of February in South Wales was 98mm.

“So they’ve had more than a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours,” he said.

UK WEATHER FORECAST FOR SUNDAY

The Met Office said: “Rain, mostly light, across southeastern areas of England, probably edging westwards later.

“Showery in the northwest with some sunny intervals, but a wedge of fine weather in between these areas.”

FLOOD WARNINGS IN SCOTLAND

There are 35 flood warnings and 10 flood alerts currently in place in Scotland.

It follows spells of heavy rain in much of the country.

SATELLITE IMAGES SHOWING CLOUDY SKIES

The Met Office has shared satellite images showing "rather cloudy skies" for many parts of the UK.

But it said it is a "different story" for East Anglia and southeast England with plenty of sunshine.

Temperatures climbed above 15C in some areas.

WHAT IS THE COLD WEATHER PAYMENT?

Brits are entitled to an extra £25 to help heat their home when the temperature in their area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees or below for seven consecutive days on average.

You can check if your area has had a cold weather payment by popping your postcode into the government's tool.

If you’re eligible, you should receive payments within 14 working days.

This year’s cold weather payment scheme will run from November 1, 2020, until March 31, 2021.

SUNDAY'S FORECAST

The Met Office said: "Rain, mostly light, across southeastern areas of England, probably edging westwards later.

"Showery in the northwest with some sunny intervals, but a wedge of fine weather in between these areas."

BEACH WEATHER IN FEBRUARY

Local resident Kate Aherne on Southwold Beach, Suffolk, is pictured enjoying the unusually high temperatures for this time of year.

The area reached highs of 14C today - well above last week's nationwide freeze.

And things are set to get warmer into next week.

MEGA DOWNPOURS IN CUMBRIA AND DEVON

At Honister Pass in Cumbria, 112mm fell between 6am on Friday and 8am on Saturday - the same amount as the February average for the region.

Further south at Princetown in Dartmoor, Devon, 72.2mm fell - around three quarters of the 100mm February average.

A MONTH'S WORTH OF RAIN IN 24 HOURS

Heavy rainfall has blocked railway lines and triggered a host of flood alerts as some parts of the UK were hit by more than a month's worth of rain in a 26-hour period.

A stretch of six Met Office weather warnings covering mostly western areas from Scotland south to Plymouth are in place this weekend as forecasters predict more wet conditions.

Senior meteorologist Marco Petagna said 127.6mm of rain fell at Llyn-y-Fan, Carmarthenshire, South Wales, between 6am on Friday and 8am on Saturday, and 115mm dropped at Treherbert in Mid-Glamorgan.

Mr Petagna said the average rainfall for the whole of February in South Wales was 98mm.

"So they've had more than a month's worth of rain in 24 hours," he said.

SCOTTISH 36C TEMPERATURE TURNAROUND

Warm winds wafting up from the Canary Isles will trigger a 36C turnaround in Scotland’s weather in just 10 days.

What weathermen describe as an “incredible” low of Minus 23C (-9F) was recorded in the village of Braemar in Aberdeenshire on February 11.

But on Sunday the citizens of Edinburgh can expect a balmy 13C (55F) - a temperature more associated with late spring.

Steve Willington, chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: "Mild air - from much further south in the Atlantic - is being directed towards the UK."

DUST PLUME 'MAY NOT BE VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE'

Mark Parrington, Senior Scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said: “It is not yet certain to what extent the plume will be visible to the naked eye.

"Dust plumes from the desert can cause red skies, limited visibility or stains on cars and windows from dust deposition, but these impacts are difficult to predict quantitatively as far as 4 or 5 days in advance."

SAHARA DUST PLUME

A Sahara dust plume is set to hit the UK, bringing with it the warmest weekend in three months as temperatures soar to 16C.

The winter snow, ice, and frost may be behind us, with mercury set to stay in the mid-teens into next week across parts of southern England.

Temperatures are set to hit a balmy 16C this weekend for southern Brits - bringing hope that warm Spring weather is on the horizon.

MASS FLOOD WARNINGS IN WALES

There are 23 flood warnings and 41 flood alerts currently in place in Wales.

It follows spells of heavy rain in much of the country.