Colder than Christmas! Beaches are set to be deserted on Bank Holiday Monday with temperatures plummeting 7C below December 25 mark
It's going to be colder than Christmas tomorrow with beaches deserted on Bank Holiday Monday as temperatures are set to plummet to 11C (52F).
It will be the coldest August Bank Holiday for 50 years and 15C (59F) colder than last year's record hottest of 33.2C (92F).
A 500-mile wide 'polar plunge' is forecast to sweep across Britain before a 1,200-mile tempest wrought by Hurricane Laura strikes on Wednesday.
This year's washout is bordering on being wetter than every summer for 11 years bar one, Met Office figures show.
Saturday saw bitter 10C highs in Fylingdales, N Yorks, and Balmoral, Aberdeenshire, where the Queen is staying, with the UK's warmest place, Gosport, Hants, only scraping to 18.9C.
THIS YEAR, BRIGHTON: The beaches of the south coast of England were noticeably bereft of people on Saturday as cold weather blew into the United Kingdom, following some sweltering days earlier this summer
LAST YEAR, BRIGHTON: The UK's beaches were packed with visitors for last year's August Bank Holiday Monday which had a record temperature of 32.3C
Staycationers lined the beach on Dorset's Jurassic Coast today as they tried to make the most of the unseasonably chilly bank holiday weather. Some were, however, seen dressed head-to-toe in trousers, jumpers and coats
The seafront in Lyme Regis, Dorset, looked less busy than usual this morning, possibly due to the cold temperatures
Groups set up windbreaks on the beach for themselves to sit behind, or sat down on deckchairs dressed in coats and trousers
Temperatures are set to plunge as low as 10C in parts of the UK - as much as 5C below the average. Pictured are a pair walking through the early morning sunshine in Lose Hill, Peak District
The polar air has caused temperatures to drop across the UK, France, Spain and Portugal. But it will be pushed to one side later in the week as a body of tropical air rides up the gulf stream
Wind speeds and directions here show the movement of air currents helping to determine the current weather
The Met Office forecast highs around 11C on Monday for Scotland's central Highlands. The record coldest late August Bank Holiday since it was set in late August 49 years ago in 1971 is 10.1C in 1979 in Shetland, Met Office records showed.
The former Hurricane Laura, whose 150mph winds killed six in Louisiana in the US, is 'incredibly' projected to gain new momentum as it rips across the Atlantic and will arrive on Wednesday and Thursday.
Meteorologists forecast 60mph gusts in Scotland, 50mph winds in the west and 30mph in the south. The Environment Agency has warned of floods in the North-West, with rain for most.
And a warm spell was scrapped - as forecasters said 23C highs on Thursday will be followed by cold air and 19C from Friday.
The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: 'Summer is ending early with a Dank Holiday and temperatures not out of place in October.'
Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: 'Incredibly, Hurricane Laura, after bulldozing its way across the US, has a chance of regaining Tropical Storm status in the North Atlantic, National Hurricane Center guidance suggests.
'But following the warm air, a push of colder air follows.'
Huge downpours and 80mph winds from Storm Francis battered the UK last week, with cold northerly winds gripping the country over the next few days.
But party-goers were out in force on Friday as they celebrated the start of the long bank holiday weekend despite the wet and windy conditions.
Tonight countryside temperatures will fall as low as 2C (35F) in the north, about 5C (41F) below average, while in northern cities they will linger at a chilly 6C (43F), about 2C (36F) below average.
In the south the mercury will fall to up to 4C (39F) tonight in the countryside and 8C (46F) in the cities, below the average temperature of 10C (50F) for the time of year.
Last night temperatures dropped as low as 0C (32F) in Catesbridge, Northern Ireland, with a scattering of light frost appearing on the ground.
'There is a possibility of frost in the glens of Scotland,' said Mr Dewhurst, 'but it won't be in towns and cities. There is still some warmth left over in them'.
'Stray' showers are also expected along the East Anglia and Kent coastlines tonight, with further showers expected for some coastal towns today.
The cliff fall happened at approximately 6.30am on the Jurassic coast. The cliffs are said to be unstable due to rainfall
The cliff collapsed on a stretch of coast between Hive beach and Freshwater beach. No injuries were reported
Rescuers raced to the Jurassic Coast yesterday after fears people may have been trapped by a cliff-fall as tonnes of rock tumbled onto the coast between Hive beach and Freshwater beach, Burton Bradstock
Firefighters arrived but no one was found under the rubble. Recent heavy rainfall had made cliffs unstable, and authorities have warned that further rockfalls could happen at any time.
The fall happened at approximately 6.30am yesterday. Geologists have previously warned that the strip of coast remains 'totally unpredictable'.
The lowest temperature recorded yesterday was 3.4C (48F) in Swyddffynnon, Wales, as the polar front swept in
The Met Office said it is expected to be a dry day due to the polar front and sunnier, but it will also be colder
Hundreds of caravan-owners camping at Freshwater Beach Holiday Park in Burton Bradstock, Dorset. The Met Office said it would be sunny but that temperatures would plummet
Countryside temperatures in Dorset could drop as low as 4C tonight, making a chilly evening for many campers
Some of the weekend’s coldest daytime temperatures are likely to be in the north Pennines, where some areas might only reach a chilly 10C (50F) today.
Meanwhile, Scarborough, North Yorks, is likely to hit a maximum of 13C (55F) this afternoon, which will feel like 8-9C (46-48F) due to strong northerly winds reaching 28mph.
The Meteorological Office said high pressure is due to build through the weekend bringing ‘plenty of sunshine’ and lessening winds.
Frank Saunders, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: ‘We’ve seen a real mix of weather this August - with a heatwave earlier this month and in the last week we’ve had two named storms bringing very wet and windy weather across the country.
‘With high pressure on the way this weekend we’re going to end the month with much more settled weather, with plenty of late summer sunshine for many. It’ll be a dry weekend for most areas too.’
The mixed forecast for the weekend follows heavy rain and thunder as 5.6 million motorists were expected to take to the roads for the bank holiday getaway.
There was flash flooding in Devon, Cornwall and Hampshire on Friday morning as more than half a month’s rain fell in 12 hours.
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Waves slam against the pier at Roker Lighthouse in Sunderland, yesterday afternoon, as clouds roll in from the North Sea
Waves were seen crashing against the seafront at Scarborough, North Yorkshire, earlier yesterday, as Britain faces a Bank Holiday washout
Despite the grey and blustery weather, people were still seen walking along the windy seafront at Scarborough, North Yorkshire, yesterday
The wettest place on Thursday was Lanreath, Cornwall, where 51mm (two inches) fell over 24 hours to 7pm, the Met Office said. Cornwall’s average rainfall for the whole of August is 81mm (3.2ins).
Through yesterday, half an inch of rain fell in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, while Loftus, North Yorkshire, had 27.6mm (1.1ins) in 12 hours to 1pm, against a monthly average of 59.4mm (2.3ins) for August.
The heavy rain follows flooding and damage caused by named storms Ellen and Francis over the last 10 days.
The Met Office is warning that later in the coming week, parts of Britain could be hit by the remnants of Hurricane Laura, which has brought devastation to the US states of Louisiana and Arkansas, leaving six people dead.
The hurricane is one of the strongest ever to hit America with winds reaching 150 mph.
The Met Office said Laura is due to become part of an Atlantic low pressure system which will ‘track eastwards towards Europe’.
It could bring ‘a spell of wet and windy weather’ to Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland on Wednesday and Thursday - but forecasters say it is too early to predict whether it will have any impact on England and Wales.