MIXED FORECAST FOR SPORT SPECTATORS
Central southern and south-eastern England enjoyed a fine end to the day on Thursday, with largely sunny skies but a more mixed picture awaits weekend sports fans.
Temperatures exceeded 27C (81F) across parts of Essex, making it the warmest day of the year so far. Further north, it was cloudier with occasional rain in the west, but many places experienced some dry and bright weather.
So, how is the coming weekend looking for some of the key sporting events? Fans of cycling, tennis and motor sport are all set to take to the great outdoors?
The ladies and men's tennis singles finals are held at Wimbledon, on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
While the use of the Centre Court roof means that play can continue even if the heavens do open, closing the roof results in a 10 minute delay to proceedings.
Additionally, the changes to the temperature and humidity on court, once the roof is shut, have been reported by some players to affect the speed and flight of the tennis ball.
On Saturday, Wimbledon will have a cloudy morning with occasional rain and drizzle. However, by the time the ladies final begins in early afternoon, the skies should have brightened.
There will be sunny spells and just the small chance of a sharp shower for the rest of the day. For the men's final on Sunday afternoon, there will be plenty of dry weather with sunny spells, but with a slightly greater chance of a heavy shower than on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in Yorkshire this weekend, the 2014 Tour de France cycle race is set to begin.
On Saturday, Stage One of Le Tour is between Leeds and Harrogate, involving a 190.5km route across parts of the Pennines and Yorkshire Dales.
On Sunday, Stage Two heads westwards from York towards Skipton and then southwards through West Yorkshire to end in Sheffield.
On Saturday, any early cloud and patchy rain will clear away eastwards in the morning to leave sunny spells and just occasional showers.
The showers are most likely to be encountered as the riders head south towards Harrogate in the afternoon.
Sunday will bring a much greater threat of showers, some potentially very heavy with a risk of hail, gusty winds and even lightning.
Finally, the Formula 1 British Grand Prix is taking place at Silverstone.
On both days there will be the risk of a few showers, potentially adding interest to the race. For qualifying at 13:00 on Saturday, while there will be long dry and sunny periods, a few sharp showers are still likely.
Similarly, on Sunday afternoon for the race itself, sunny spells and showers sums it up. The small chance of a very heavy, thundery downpour crossing the circuit.
So whatever you are doing, enjoy the weekend. Despite some heavy showers about, there will be some sunshine to be had too! Keep up to date with where the showers are lurking by visiting www.raintoday.co.uk.
