Scotland’s weather: Cooler temperatures and rain on the way

SUNBATHERS in Edinburgh took advantage of Princes Street’s green space yesterday, as they made the most of their last day of a mini heat-wave that has swept across the UK during the past week.

Forecasters have predicted an abrupt end to the soaring temperatures that saw Scotland beating Madrid, Rome and Nairobi and matching Rio de Janeiro, with a return to more seasonal weather for the country.

After a peak of 26.8C in Aboyne at the weekend, Glasgow came closest to matching the sizzling temperatures of the weekend, with mercury touching 26.6C.

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However, according to the Met Office, Scots will perhaps need to pull out their woolly jumpers from the cupboard once again, as temperatures are set to dive back down to barely double figures, while cloud and rain dominate the week.

The sudden swing back to cooler weather has come from a weak weather front moving south from the north east overnight, bringing with it cooler air.

Met Office forecaster Ken McEwan said that initially this front would bring cloud down across parts of the east, and generate sharp, heavy rain showers in west Perthshire and the Highlands, but that it would not reach as far as the west coast initially,

As the week progresses, the cloud cover over the country is expected to thicken, bringing with it the potential for further showers and drizzle to Central and south-eastern Scotland.

Temperatures are expected to match the change in conditions, with Central and western parts expected to see 15C, while the east and north-east will fall to just 11C.

Only the south and south-west can expect to see anything approaching last week’s temperatures, with the possibility of 20C.

Wednesday will see another unsettling front, bringing with it more showery rain, which will be potentially heavy in the west and southwest, with temperatures of 12C across the country.

By Thursday, the worst of the rain will push away and the country should see the return of bright, sunny weather, though without the warm temperatures.

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Mr McEwan said: “While it will be fundamentally high pressure in charge, it will be a cold high, rather than a warm high that we had last week.

“So certainly sunny skies again for the weekend, but with temperatures around the 12C-mark, with light winds over parts of the Highlands, there is the possibility of a touch of ground frost, so basically we have a couple of seasons within the space of a week.

“It has been a little bit of a surprise for all of us. It broke quite a number records for May.

“What was surprising, though, was that it lasted as long is it did.”