Wind warning in place as gales set to follow Easter weekend sunshine

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for wind covering the west coast of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for 12 hours from 3pm on Tuesday.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “The wet and windy weather will continue this week, with fronts arriving from the southwest bringing further periods of rain for many from Tuesday.

“A developing low-pressure system looks likely to bring a more sustained period of wet and windy weather from Tuesday and into Wednesday, which has resulted in the issue of yellow wind warnings.”

Temperatures are predicted to range from around 11C (51.8F) in northern Scotland to 16C (60.8F) in the south of England during this period.

The Environment Agency has issued seven "flood alerts" for scattered areas in southern England where flooding is "possible".

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Steven Keates said the worst of the wind and rain is expected on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday.

He said: "There's a distinct possibility of some disruptive wind for parts of the UK, especially in southern and western areas, as well as potential for heavy rainfall and even some snow, though the latter probably confined to high ground in the north. Although subject to a large degree of uncertainty, gusts of wind could be in excess of 60mph in some exposed upland or coastal regions, with around 35mm (1.4in) to 50mm (2in) of rain possible for some areas."

This comes after temperatures dropped on Monday, following a balmy Easter Bank Holiday when much of the UK was hotter than Rome.

A high of 17.3C (63.14F) was recorded in Chertsey, Surrey - only slightly cooler than the hottest temperature of the year of 17.8C (64.04F), recorded in Santon Downham, Suffolk, on March 30.