UK weather forecast: Highs of 25C for Glastonbury – before rain, hail and thunder hit

The Met Office forecast a mixed picture for Glastonbury, with revelers set to enjoy muggy temperatures with highs of 25C before rain, hail and thunder could fall over the weekend

Music lovers traveling to Glastonbury can enjoy a sweltering 25°C before the weekend’s rain, hail and thunder.

The Met Office is forecasting a mixed picture for the music festival which begins this week and while there will be no washout it could most likely be bogged down with heavy showers on Sunday.

Looking at the temperatures, they are expected to peak at 25C on Thursday and just three days later they could have dropped to 16C on Sunday.

The five-day music event, returning for the first time in three years, is expected to draw around 200,000 people a day to Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, from Wednesday to Sunday.

Headliners include Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, The Petshop Boys and Sir Paul McCartney, while other well-known bands such as McFly and the Sugababes will also perform on the various stages to celebrate the event’s 50th anniversary.

The fields hosting the festival will be dotted with stages, tents, communal toilets and food stalls, most of which will be outside. This means that rain boots and raincoats will come in handy during showers.

“Glastonbury is approaching but will it be a washout or a heatwave? Hopefully not either, but there will be some showers into the weekend and it will be warmer and increasingly sunny over the next few days,” said Met Office forecaster Aidan McGivern.

“We’ve got high pressure, a very big mid-Atlantic high, and that’s stretching in a ridge across much of the UK so it’s actually going to be increasingly sunny for most over the next few days.

“Weather fronts being limited to northern parts of the UK and with that high pressure ridge and some warmer air heading our way, temperatures will be rising by the day and will indeed peak on Thursday.

“But by Thursday there’s a chance of some heavy showers moving in from the nearby continent and then comes this feature on Friday which will bring a period of more sustained rain later in the day and possibly early on Saturday.”

“So a couple of hours of late afternoon into evening rain for Glastonbury because of this front and it could extend another rain front, maybe some heavy rain in the early hours of Saturday.”

Then at the weekend there will be low pressure over Great Britain, which will unsettle it.

“Windier conditions are coming in from the North West, much cooler and a mix on Saturday and Sunday of heavy showers, yes, with hail and thunder possible, but also some sunny spells in between,” added Mr McGivern.

Away from Glastonbury and much of the UK, it should be hotter again in the coming days but clouds and rain are forecast for Scotland and Northern Ireland and it could cover parts of northern England during Tuesday.

UK forecast for the next 5 days

Fine and dry for most. Cloudy with drizzle in the northwest.

Today:

Another fine, dry day for most, with good sunshine for where it was warm or very warm in England and Wales. Cloudier in the north with some afternoon showers over eastern Scotland and possibly north east England.

This evening:

Mostly clear for England and Wales and cool in parts of the far south and south east. Cloudier in the north with light drizzle for climbs.

Wednesday:

Good and dry for much of England and Wales and eastern Scotland. Warm or very warm here. The northwest will remain cloudier with some light rain or drizzle.

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:

Mostly dry and warm on Thursday, locally hot in the south. On Friday and Saturday inconsistent with showers, locally heavy thunderstorms and some longer rain showers. get cooler.