People punting on the River Cam in Cambridge yesterday enjoyed some warm weather (Picture: Bav Media)
The last day of the long weekend should bring a glimpse of summery weather to many after Storm Lilian cleared out just in time.
Saturday brought lashing rain to London, and an ominous toxic gas cloud swept our way in the early hours of Sunday after a volcanic eruption in Iceland.
But finally, the skies have cleared enough for a sunny day off work (if you’re so lucky).
The Met Office said there had been ‘a taste of autumn’ as temperatures fell widely into single figures overnight ahead of a fresh Sunday morning.
Meteorologist Craig Snell said Sunday ‘started on a sunny and bright note for a lot of the UK’ as clouds moved in over Northern Ireland and western Scotland.
The area of cloud and rain is set to spread eastwards and limit the sunshine.
He said northern areas would see some rain, ‘and with the cloud, wind and rain combined, for most of us it can be feeling fairly chilly for the time of year.
‘But down towards the south east where we hang on to the sunshine for the longest we will just climb up to about 20C or 21C.’
Following the bank holiday weekend, warmer conditions are expected to develop during next week in central and eastern areas, with the possibility of some hot weather for a time.
There may also be another spell of heavy and persistent rain in some north-western areas on Tuesday.
It comes after warnings the large cloud of SO2 could cause problems, particularly to those with asthma.
A map by Czech weather portal Windy showed the gas – spat out during the eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula – moving across Europe.
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At least half of the UK was affected as the gas travelled across the continent, also engulfing parts of the Netherlands, France and Germany.
Inhaling the colourless gas can cause symptoms such as a sore throat, coughing, a runny nose, burning eyes, tight lungs and difficulty breathing.
A state of emergency was declared in Iceland over the eruption on Thursday after a series of strong earthquakes.
On Friday evening, Leeds Festival organisers confirmed the BBC Radio 1 stage and the brand-new Aux stage would not reopen for scheduled performances on Saturday or Sunday, which were expected to feature stars including Jorja Smith, Teddy Swims, and The Wombats, due to Storm Lilian.
The decision came as ‘mother nature has played her part’, they said.
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