What a change from just 72 hours ago when large swathes of England enjoyed glorious bright sunshine and warm temperatures soaring as high as 26C.

While we’re seeing a sharp temperature drop from mid 20sC down to high teens today, we’ll see a further and sharper drop tomorrow with Sunday, considered the main day of the jubilee celebrations may, ironically see strikingly similar conditions to those seen back in 1952 when a 25-year old Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England. On that day, London was overcast and chilly at just 12C, tomorrow may actually be cooler with a forecast maximum of just 10 or 11C with morning rains easing, giving way to lunchtime or afternoon showers and perhaps even thunderstorms. We’re looking at a 16C temperature difference between this Sunday and last.

It’s all down to a trough or a cold pool of air migrating south out of Scandinavia which has kicked the warm bubble of high pressure southwards away from London and the southern UK. The cooler air has been over the northern half of the UK for a couple of days now and continues to work south, trying to oush out the heat fighting to hold on. As cooler air flows south through the Midlands and comes up against the warmer air mass, we’re seeing a significant band of rain develop. This band of rain, associated with a frontal system and low is spreading rains into Devon and Cornwall just now and by mid evening tonight, it should have spread northeastwards crossing Greater London.

You’ll have noticed a raw easterly wind developing through this afternoon and this combined with rain spreading northeast across the South and Midlands is certainly creating quite the different look and especially feel to the air.

Tonight sees the rain turn heavy really from the southern part of Northern Ireland, throughout much of the Rep of Ireland across the Irish Sea and throughout the Midlands and South of England including London.

This heavy and persistent rain may produce upwards of an inch in places with localied minor flooding possible.

Temperatures should hold at 12-14C but into tomorrow morning and as the rain band lifts slightly to the north of London and focuses over the Midlands, we could see some sun peak through but this opens the door to further destabalisation of the atmosphere with surface warming and this may spark thunderstorms. Temperatures bottom out at near 10C in London tomorrow morning and they may struggle to lift from this throughout much of Sunday as the flotilla commences and travels down the Thames.

Skies have been laden much of the today across the South of England including at Epsom Downs where the Queen started off her celebrations which mark her golden jubilee.

The Golden Jubilee Schedule

SUNDAY

The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant

The Big Jubilee Lunch

MONDAY

Picnic at Buckingham Palace

BBC concert

Beacon Launch

TUESDAY

Carriage procession down The Mall

 

Tags: cold, grey, queens jubilee weather, rainy