Bank Holiday spirits are set to dampen as Britain is due to be blasted with 65mph winds and heavy rain tomorrow as the Met Office issues a weather alert and a freak hail storm left the Isle of Wight looking like a winter wonderland.
Hail battered the Isle of Wight yesterday leaving the Newchurch area looking like it was in the depths of winter and covered in snow.
Jamie Russell, of the Isle of Wight Met Service, said: ‘It was amazing. I couldn’t believe it. I was on the southern side of a big rapeseed field near Shanklin when I noticed something slightly unusual happening in the general direction of Newchurch and headed over there.’
And across the rest of the country punters were forced to huddle under blankets and coats while dining with friends and family outside amid the torrential rain yesterday.
In Wallingford, Oxfordshire, diners braved the conditions despite the rain lashing their umbrellas during a very wet al fresco lunch.
An extraordinary freak hail storm hit the Isle of Wight and covered the fields and streets in Newchurch turning the landscape into a winter wonderland
Jamie Russell, of the Isle of Wight Met Service, said: ‘It was amazing. I couldn’t believe it. I was on the southern side of a big rapeseed field near Shanklin when I noticed something slightly unusual happening in the general direction of Newchurch and headed over there’
Pictured: An almost cloudless sunrise on a cold and misty morning in Glastonbury Tor, Somerset
A misty and smoke-filled sky. Pictured: Viticulturist Samuel Philippot walks amongst the burning bougies at The Grange Hampshire at sunrise
A yellow weather warning for rain and wind has been issued, with the wild weather likely to last into Tuesday morning. Pictured: Sunrise in Glastonbury Tor
A yellow weather warning is in place for Monday with gusts of up to 65mph forecast in Wales and the south coast of England, while showers will continue to batter the country.
Temperatures will remain low for this time of year with lows of -4C, lower than the temperature in Russia, and forecasts of torrential rain and storms to start tomorrow.
Today will see a cold start but will largely be sunny with a few showers, some heavy. Eastern and northeastern UK can expect the heaviest showers this afternoon.
Tonight temperatures will drop and there will be clear spells and rural frost overnight. It will be windier in the west of the country with rain into Northern Ireland by dawn.
Tomorrow will see gusts of wind up to 65mph in Wales and the south coast of England as rain will continue to batter the continue.
Pictured: A freak hailstorm has left the Newchurch area of the Isle of Wight looking like it is in the depths of winter
Hail froze to the roads and grass, looking like snow was covering the Isle of Wight this weekend
Sunrise over the burning bougies in amongst The Grange Hampshire vines
A Viticulturist lights linseed straw bales to aid the bougies effectiveness and assist them in the battle against the frost on the vines new buds at The Grange Hampshire
A group of friends are seen sitting on a stone wall smiling and having a good time in Leeds on Saturday night
Two women sit down on the pavement in Leeds on Saturday night as people headed out to make the most of their weekend
Members of the public take to the streets in Soho tonight to make the most of their Saturday night
A waiter comes attends to a table in Soho, London, tonight as tables are packed with people out enjoying their Saturday night
A group of revellers hold drinks and smile together in Newcastle city centre this evening
Punters huddled under blankets and coats in the wet weather with diners still forced to remain outside due to Covid restrictions
The weather proved no obstacle to some who sat outside Britain’s pubs and restaurants on Saturday amid the pouring rain
And the rest of the week is due to remain fairly wet with a few sunny spells.
The cold temperatures follow the coldest April on record with the lowest average minimum temperatures for April in the UK since 1922.
Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: ‘There’s quite a deep area of low pressure coming in from the West on Monday. It’s pretty windy with some gales in exposed areas in the West’s coast and hills.
‘We could see a yellow wind warning being issued for Monday.
Three girls hug each other, with one clutching a drink, as they enjoy their night out in Newcastle city centre
A group of women pose together this evening in Liverpool as they wait to enter Circus night club to attend a Covid-19 pilot event
Revellers in Liverpool are seen drinking, smiling and taking photos together this evening as they wait to enter the Covid-19 pilot rave event being held at Circus night club at Bramley-Moore Dock
Diners in the Oxfordshire town of Wallingford brave the pouring rain for the chance to be together and to eat outdoors on Saturday
Huge numbers of people donned coats and hats to fight off the chill today as they made their way to the beach in Whitstable, Kent, to enjoy the sunshine
‘Obviously with lockdown restrictions coming down now there could be more people out and about so the impact could be higher than normal but certainly a very wet and windy day moving in from the West on Monday.’
The yellow weather warnings will see some delays to road, rail air and ferry transport. The Met Office has said that some bus and train services will probably be affected.
And damage to outdoor temporary structures is possible with some tree branches down too.
It’s likely that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray and/or large waves.
