BRITAIN is set to bask in a 28C scorcher today as thousands of festival goers flood into the Glastonbury Festival – but forecasters warn it could turn into a mud bath.
The world-famous five-day music epic at Worthy Farm in Somerset kicks off for the first time following two years Covid cancellations.
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But while Wednesday will see the mercury sizzle in much of the south west and cover southern areas of UK in “plenty of sunshine”- the Met Office have warned festival goers to plan for anything.
And now there is even a flood warning in place for the festival on Thursday which could spark misery for thousands of campers at the site.
Deputy Meteorologist at the Met Office, Helen Caughey, said: “You should plan for both sunhats and raincoats for this year’s festival.
“There will be plenty of sunshine on Wednesday across the South West, although there could be a bit more cloud later in the day.”
Thousands of punters who have managed to dodge the strike hell engulfing Britain are currently flooding into the festival as they get ready for five days of Glastonbury magic in todays scorching climes.
Temperatures will reach 26C or 27C at the festival, while the north west and north east will see cooler climes of around 22C.
It will be warm and mostly sunny for the rest of the UK.
But the north, Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland will remain largely cloudy throughout the afternoon.
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Though some brightness will develop in places, the BBC reported.
But its good news for the the rest of the UK as the glorious sunshine and warmth will continue through to Thursday – but not for long.
That’s because a thunderstorm warning has been issued by the Met Office for much of southern England on Thursday.
Forecasters have put a yellow warning in place between 10am and 11.59pm with torrential downpours expected.
Senior Forecaster Jo Farrow, from Netweather, said: “It has the ingredients for torrential downpours, thunderstorms (home-grown and imported in the plume) sudden gusty winds and hail with flash flooding from the heavy rain as it has been dry recently.”
Come Friday, forecasters have warned of more “unsettled” conditions that will dampen a few parties.
And Glastonbury is in the firing line for this weather too, with a risk of “heavy showers and thunderstorms” on both Friday and Saturday.
And it’s bad news for campers as surface water is expected to accumulate which could leave campsites at Worthy Farm like a mudslide.
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Though there are silver linings, as the Met Office stress this will be “quick moving” and the storms will cease.
Temperatures will start to dip as we go through the end of the week returning to near normal for the time of year, with highs likely around 18-20C.
The Met Office added: “Sunday is expected to be mostly dry and bright at first but with showers once again developing through the morning, some of which could be heavy, and possibly thundery.”
Unfortunately, the unsettled pattern is expected to continue to dominate into the start of next week bringing a more miserable outlook as the end of June arrives.
MOSQUITO PLAGUE
It comes as millions of blood-sucking mozzies are set to plague Britain this summer.
Fans streaming to Glastonbury – where rain is forecast – need to heed the warnings.
The dreaded combination of hot sun with sudden torrential rain and high humidity will result in large puddles at the festival – and the mozzies will be in heaven.
And they will be itching to sink their fangs into the nearest bare skin.
It’s not just our native critters – a strain of mosquito carrying the lethal Zika virus is feared to have sneaked into the country.
Another threat is the Asian tiger mozzie, whose bite can pass on 23 infections including West Nile virus and dengue fever.
Pharmacies are braced for a stampede by families desperate to get anti-bite sprays and creams.
Meanwhile the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine warned: “If people are getting bitten in their garden, they should have a look to see where there might be any possible things to get rid of.
“Blocked guttering on the roof, drains, water baths for birds, water butts, water features, ponds.”
A whopping 210,000 festival goers are expected to descend onto Worthy Farm this weekend.
Billie Eilish will headline the famous Pyramid Stage on the Friday while Sir Paul McCartney, who turned 80 last week, will play Saturday night.
Rap sensation Kendrick Lamar will bring the festival to a close on Sunday.
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