British summer gets under way with severe wind warnings

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/01/british-summer-gets-under-way-with-severe-warnings

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The British summer is getting off to a blustery start with severe wind warnings issued nationwide, thwarting hopes for a heatwave.

The Met Office warned on Monday that this week will begin with an unseasonably windy spell and even heavy rain despite bookies having slashed the odds on Britain enjoying the hottest June on record.

Yellow wind warnings – which suggest people should be aware – have been issued for all regions of the UK except Orkney and Shetland, and are valid from 2pm on Monday until 6pm on Tuesday.

A Met Office spokesman said the low pressure coming across the UK will bring strong winds – gusts of 40-50mph “fairly widely”, with 60-70mph gales expected in areas including some English Channel coasts.

Asked about the possibility of a coming heatwave, he said: “I wouldn’t say that there’s a heatwave on the way. No.” But he did say the weather would become more settled towards the end of the week with temperatures expected to reach 22C (71.6F) on Thursday and mid-20s on Friday and Saturday. One or two places might see 26C (78.8F) if they are lucky.

“There’s also some heavy rain associated with that low pressure through later today and tomorrow. We could see 20-40mm of rain in northern and western areas,” the spokesman said, adding that trees which were in leaf at this time of year were more susceptible to the winds, meaning that the chance of disruption was increased.

“It’s a pretty unsettled start to the summer,” he said, but added that it would calm down “quite significantly” from midweek onwards.

He also said there would be a fair bit of cloud over the UK. “It’s certainly not a case that we’re getting wall to wall blue skies across the UK on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or even Saturday.

It is going to be pretty pleasant weather nevertheless, for at least the southern half of the UK. There are going to be bright spells, it is going to be dry, the winds are going to have backed off quite a lot and the temperature’s going to build,” he said.

He said there would be a contrast between the weather on Monday and Tuesday and the weather at the end of the week, but it would “not be a switch to tropical weather by any means”.

The Met Office said that, given the unseasonable nature of the winds, the public should be aware of the potential for disruption to transport and outdoor activities.