Wind and rain forecast to ruin first weekend with relaxed Covid restrictions

The UK faces a washout first weekend after coronavirus restrictions have been relaxed, forecasters have warned.

Weather warnings for wind are in place on Thursday and Friday across parts of England and Wales, with some coastal areas likely to be hit with 60mph gusts, the Met Office said.

But forecasters said that there will also be heavy showers across parts of the country, with up to 100mm of rainfall on higher ground.

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said that the wet weather will continue over the weekend and while the showers will be broken up by sunny spells it is uncertain how long these will be.

It is the first weekend where people can take advantage of further relaxation of restrictions, with up to 30 people allowed to meet outside in England.

Outdoor performances such as outdoor cinemas, theatres and cinemas can also reopen.

Mr Madge said: “I’m afraid it’s a rather unsettled picture.

“Saturday night and into Sunday we have yet another system working its way across bringing rain and showers across the UK, bringing more showery conditions in behind it.

“Anywhere could see a shower but they are likely to be heaviest along the North Sea coast.”

Mr Madge said that while Saturday was likely to be the best day any good weather could be quite short-lived.

He added: “I think Saturday is going to be the best day for many over the weekend, it certainly looks clearer and probably the second half of Saturday will give most people the opportunity to see some clearer weather.

“But it’s quite short-lived, so if people are hoping it will extend into Sunday they will be disappointed.

“Western parts probably have the best of the conditions late afternoon on Saturday and probably the best conditions early on Sunday in the east.

“But the rain will sweep across the whole of the UK.

“There’s likely to be the prospect of some sunshine but how long the duration of that will be between showers is uncertain.”

The Met Office has issued weather warnings across the south coast of England and parts of Wales from 3pm on Thursday until 9pm on Friday.

It said that the windy weather may lead to some travel disruption and could lead to damage to temporary outdoor structures such as marquees and gazebos.

Mr Madge said that the high winds will be accompanied by heavy rain and added: “We are talking about quite heavy rainfall.

“The warnings are for wind more than rain but within the impact area there’s quite a lot of heavy rain forecast.

“We are looking at lowland spots getting 30-40mm of rain over the next couple of days, but in some areas, perhaps parts of Wales we could see 80-100mm, but that’s likely to be high ground.

“The heaviest rainfall we are looking at is probably areas like north Wales, the Lake District, the Brecon Beacons, possibly Dartmoor and Exmoor.”