Brace yourself for another Bank Holiday washout

The current dry and sunny weather will end some time during Sunday, according to the Met Office. Then an Atlantic storm will arrive, bringing with it heavy rain and strong winds from the West.

Temperatures will struggle to reach double figures, making it five to six degrees cooler than normal for the time of year.

Forecaster Keith Fenwick said: "This weekend looks like following the same pattern as the May Bank Holiday, so we've been rather unlucky this month.

"It will come as a stark contrast to the weather we've experienced over the last few days.

"We're expecting heavy, persistent rain in places, so people should take advantage of Saturday which looks like being the best day of the weekend." The Met Office is still narrowing down which areas will be worst hit, but it expects the whole country to suffer very disappointing weather on both Sunday and Monday.

The miserable start to the half-term week will not, however, prevent parts of the road network grinding to a halt, according to the RAC.

The motoring organisation predicts traffic will be 50 per cent heavier than on a normal weekend, with tomorrow the worst time to get behind the wheel. Spokesman Liz Kennett said: "We were expecting the May Bank Holiday to be the most congested ever, but the disappointing weather meant traffic tailed off.

"But if the forecasters are right this time, it will simply move the queues to the most popular shopping centres, and heavy rain will cause extra disruption and accidents."

It is not all gloom, however. The Met Office is sticking with its prediction of a warmer than average summer.