Met Office: Gale-force gusts could hit parts of England and Wales on Friday

Gale-force gusts could hit parts of England and Wales on Friday, with showers possible during this weekend’s Wimbledon finals.

After a rainy working week, a change in the jet stream – which is a core of winds high up above the Earth’s surface – could spell a wet and windy Friday and weekend for many, the Met Office has warned.

The strongest winds are excepted in coastal regions of southern Wales, Cornwall and Devon and in higher grounds in these areas, such as Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Brecon Beacons.

No weather warnings have been issued at present but the forecaster has advised people to check for updates.

Met Office spokesperson Oli Claydon told the PA news agency: “The key bit really is the winds, it is going to feel notably unsettled and windy as we go through Friday, for a summer period.

“It’s not necessarily unusual, we do get unsettled spells but because of the nature of what’s going on at this time of year it can have its impact, so obviously we’ve got trees in full leaf, we’ve got some schools are starting to break up so we’ve got people on holiday.

“When we start seeing stronger winds in coastal regions like Devon and Cornwall and people are visiting on holiday and if they’re planning on getting in the sea, they’re just things to be aware of like that, if there are people camping, etc.

“It’s just different considerations when we see windy spells at this time of year.”

He said there would be “showers pretty widely across the whole of the UK” on Wednesday afternoon, with a possible high of 24C in south-east England.

Thursday is set to be another “showery day” but with rain less widespread than on Wednesday afternoon, and “temperatures getting up to 24C as a high”, Mr Claydon said.

He added: “The real change comes through Thursday night and into Friday, we see an area of low pressure approaching from the south-west bringing some very wet and windy weather, initially to the south-west of the UK in the early hours of Friday and then that spreads north-eastwards across the UK through the day on Friday.

“In terms of wind, the strongest of winds are expected in south-western parts, so coastal regions of southern Wales, Cornwall, Devon and also the higher ground in these regions as well so Dartmoor, Exmoor, the Brecon Beacons, they’re the areas where we are likely to see the strongest of winds where we could see gale-force gusts.”

He said “pretty much everywhere will see rain at some juncture through the day on Friday”, when highs of 23C are expected in south-east England.

He added: “In terms of accumulations, we could see 24-hour totals in the region of 30-50mm, particularly in western parts of the UK, accumulating over 24 hours. So, a pretty unsettled day through Friday and also Saturday.”

Mr Claydon said Sunday will also be “breezy” with “showers quite widely still across the UK”.

Showers could also affect the Wimbledon tennis tournament in south-west London as semi-finals and finals take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, he said.

Mr Claydon added: “Through Friday to start with, that rain is pushing eastwards through the day so, dry in the morning but that rain moving in by the time we get to the middle of the afternoon.

“It will dry out for a little period overnight before the showers then reinvigorate through the day on Saturday.

“It’s started to move more into showers by that period so it won’t necessarily be hitting everywhere throughout the day, it will be on and off.”

On Sunday, he said “there are still showers around in the South East but less so and they won’t be as heavy” with “brightness potentially poking through”.