Tropical end to Autumn: Britain braces for blast of 50mph winds and torrential rain from the Azores but with unseasonably warm highs up to 65F
- The mercury hit up to 18C in Wales yesterday as Britain basked in unseasonably warm temperatures
- But unsettled weather is on the way with gusts of up to 50mph blowing in from the north
- The wind is expected to bring showers, but the warmer temperatures are set to continue into next week
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A blast of wet and windy weather blown in by gusts of up to 50mph is to bring an end to the exceptionally high temperatures Britain basked in yesterday.
Wales saw the mercury hit 65F (18C) yesterday as the country enjoyed warm November highs. The country will enjoy another mild day today, with temperatures reaching up to 57F (14C).
But strong gusts are set to bring showers and ‘murky’ weather this week, blowing them in from the north west – although forecasters say the unseasonably warm temperatures will continue.
It marks an almost tropical end to Autumn after a dry and bright week for much of the UK.
Met Office spokesperson Marco Petagna said: ‘Yesterday was exceptionally mild. We had 18C in Goggerdan, Wales.
‘And even in the south east near London it was close to 18C, so well above where it should be.
The showers are already rolling in according to the Met Office with fog and mist also taking some time to clear
Britain has basked in mild temperatures but gusts of wind are blowing in unsettled weather from the north
‘The general feeling for the next few days is its mostly still quite mild so any frost will be very limited.’
The Met Office forecast that the mild conditions would last past the middle of the month, but the dry spells are set to be blown away as strong gusts batter the north of the country.
‘We’re looking at gale force winds in exposed areas over the next few days,’ said Mr Petagna.
‘We’re talking gusts of 40 to 45mph. Maybe even 50mph in parts of Scotland and across the Irish Sea. Temperatures still holding out fairly mild around 11 to 13C.’
While the mercury is set to remain consistently higher than average for November, other weather is set to remain changeable and unsettled, forecasters warn.
Tuesday morning much of the country was covered in low cloud, with mist and fog interspersed with showers across the UK.
‘It’s a messy picture with a fairly broad brush today,’ said Mr Petagna. ‘It’s a murky, grey start to the day with mist and fog in places.
‘There’s a few showers as well mainly towards the south and far south east of England. As we go through the day the low cloud an mist will tend to lift and become more confined to the hill of northern England and Scotland, so there could be a bit of murk over the Pennines this afternoon.’
Despite the grey weather, parts of the south east were expected to see highs of up to 59F (15C) today, with similar mild weather forecast for Wednesday.
But western areas will be the first in line to be hit by the wet and windy weather as it blows in tomorrow.
Mr Petagna said: ‘There is some rain moving in across western parts, so some wet and windy weather in the west.
‘That will push eastwards across all areas, meaning Wednesday night could be quite windy. There could be some intense bursts of rain on that and some quite gusty winds as well.’