UK weather: Downpours threaten Glastonbury weekend washout as unsettled forecast persists

Showers forecast over the weekend are threatening a Glastonbury weekend washout after day one of the festival saw temperatures soar to almost 27C.

Forecasters have warned that downpours could dampen weekend plans as Saturday’s patchy outlook may see parts of the UK hit by heavy showers and potential thunderstorms.

The Met Office is warning festivalgoers at Worthy Farm in particular to plan ahead for the oncoming wet weather as low pressure near the west feeds rain across the region.

Sunseekers at the east coast may have better luck than revellers in the southwest, however, with forecasters anticipating the most of the sun to hit beaches in holiday hotspots, including Norfolk and Great Yarmouth.

Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to remain average for the time of year, sitting in the teens and low 20s across the weekend.

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Here’s the all important weather forecast 👇 pic.twitter.com/B1XyY2qnUK

— Met Office (@metoffice) June 24, 2022

Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said: “There’s certainly a risk of some showers on and off at Glastonbury through this weekend.

“Low pressures will be close by to the west of the UK so at times will feed some showers in across the region. The showers are probably heaviest on Saturday by the looks of things.”

“Brisk” winds are also set for most parts of the country, with gusts of about 35mph expected in the west of the UK, he said.

“The best of the drier, sunny spells will be more towards the east and south east whereas the worst of the showers are generally likely out towards the west and northwest.”

Areas like Wales, western Scotland and Northern Ireland are also facing the worst of the winds, Mr Petagna said.

He explained June’s weather swings were due to a change in the direction of wind, from warmer breezes from Spain and France to colder ones coming from the Atlantic.

The erratic conditions are expected to last until at least the end of next week, he said.

“It stays quite unsettled into next week, even until the end of next week, until Friday,” Mr Petagna said.

According to Met Office data from nearby weather stations, the 2007 iteration of Glastonbury broke the record for the festival’s wettest day, with 60.1mm of rain falling in a single day.

The highest windspeed recorded at the annual event was 41mph, which was reached at nearby Yeovilton in 1985 and 1987.

As well as being dubbed the ‘year of the mud’ on the Glastonbury website, the 1997 festival also holds the record for the coldest festival day with 13.2C being the high as the temperature reached at Castle Cary Grove Mead.

Yeovilton records also show that the sunniest day of Glastonbury on record was in 1989, which saw approximately 15 hours and 36 minutes of sunshine.

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