Met Office issues weather forecast for October — and it warns of downpours and gales

Met Office issues weather forecast for October — and it warns of downpours and gales The Met Office has issued a long-range forecast for October, predicting a changeable month for the UK with spells of rain, showers and strong winds driven by Atlantic weather systems The Met Office forecasters say October will be rather wet and windy. An Atlantic system is set to sweep across the UK, delivering bouts of heavy rain and blustery winds for many regions. The Met Office's latest long-range outlook indicates the changeable conditions will persist for much of the month, though there will be intervals of drier and sunnier spells too. Warm weather has so far dominated October with 26C recorded in Cambridge this week. The mercury exceeded 22C in Cavendish, Suffolk, on Friday, forecasters said. However, the warmth will soon give way to more turbulent conditions as weather fronts sweep in from the Atlantic. Gusts of around 50mph are expected along the west coast of the UK, especially in Scotland, as early as next week, forecasters at Metdesk understand. Temperatures are forecast to hover around or marginally below average initially, before possibly turning milder towards the end of the month, reports the Express. But the westerly gales will make parts of the UK feel colder. It could feel as cold as 10C along parts of the Lancashire coast on Friday due to the winds, meteorologists reckon. The Met Office's long-range forecast reads: "These will bring showers or longer spells of rain, with the wettest and windiest weather in the northwest, drier in the southeast." We shared weather maps - issued by Metdesk - which indicate Friday is likely to be the wettest day of the week. A band of low pressure will sweep across the country — as far south as Devon — through to parts of Scotland as temperatures drop. Downpours will be heavy, especially in western and northern parts of the UK. The unsettled picture will linger into next weekend too, meteorologists understand. The maps, issued by forecasters at WXCharts, show the band of low pressure will move eastwards on Friday and Saturday. And in certain regions, weather maps have turned green and red, indicating rainfall rates of between 1.5mm and 4mm per hour. Scotland will bear the brunt of the downpours, according to the latest weather maps. While there was, earlier on Saturday, concern for the flooding of Rivers Ehen, Calder, Irt and Esk and other watercourses, from Harrington to Annaside in Cumbria, the Environment Agency has now removed the flood alert. It added it has no further alerts or warnings in place at this moment in time, but may issue more later in the week.