London suffers wet start to weekend as Storm Mathis batters south coast

London was hit with torrential rain on Friday while Storm Mathis batters the south of England, bringing winds as high at 70mph to coastal areas.

The area of low pressure - named Storm Mathis by the French weather service Meteo France - hit the UK’s south coast on Thursday and continued to bring high winds and rain on Friday, with yellow weather warnings in place.

The capital has escaped the storm and weather warnings but was hit with heavy rain on Friday afternoon.

A pedestrian shelters from the rain as they walk past fruit and vegetable at a market stall in east London (AFP via Getty Images)

Saturday will remain cloudy and could see some outbreaks of light rain in London, while Sunday and the start of the week are due to be brighter with some sunny spells.

The Met Office says daytime temperatures early next week will be around average, but light winds and clear skies could see frosts develop overnight.

A yellow warning for wind is in place across the south coast of England and Wales until midday, with the Met Office warning high gales could disrupt travel.

A yellow rain warning is also in place for parts if Cornwall and Devon, until 6pm.

🌧️ A cloudy and damp Friday afternoon for many, with rain particularly persistent across parts of South West England

🌡️ Feeling chilly along eastern coasts of Scotland and England

⛅ Some brighter spells for western Scotland pic.twitter.com/DMfeOsxsSY

— Met Office (@metoffice) March 31, 2023

A Met Office spokesperson said on Friday: “It’s not particularly unusual to have unsettled weather in the transition between winter and summer.

The DFDS Delft Seaways ferry is hit by waves as it arrives at the Port of Dover in Kent during strong winds (PA)

“The area of low pressure will continue to move eastwards through the day and the wind speeds will reduce, with the strongest winds offshore in the English Channel and over northern France.

“We have a wind warning in force until midday today, there is also a rain waning for south-west England. Although it will be windy, there are not expected to be notable impacts in London.

“The weather will settle down into the weekend and through Monday before further wet and windy weather approachs from the west on Monday night into Tuesday.

“Looking further ahead, there are signs of higher pressure moving in from the north-east of the UK which will help settle the weather again, at this stage there is some uncertainty over how far this could spread across the UK.”