Wintry showers with colder than average temperatures and heavy rain are expected across parts of the UK this week.

As the country looks forward to the first May bank holiday this weekend, the Met Office has predicted some areas of Wales and Scotland will see snow on Monday.

Parts of Wales and south England will see heavy rain and hail and thunder, whereas temperatures in northern areas will stay low.

The Environment Agency has issued several flood alerts and warnings for England.

The areas at risk include Tyne and Wear, the River Avon in Bristol and the North Sea coast from Staithes to Whitby.

Overnight the Met Office has predicted a widespread frost in areas away from the South West, with temperatures dipping to 2-3C (35-37F) in the far north.

The wintry weather will continue in Scotland on Tuesday and it will be a dry day until the evening when outbreaks of rain will start to spread from the southwest.

The Met Office has said it will be cold everywhere on Wednesday after another night of temperatures dropping to as low as 1C (34F).

But conditions look like they could become milder towards the long weekend.

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The Met Office said: “Milder conditions spreading northeastwards as we head into the weekend. Unsettled showery conditions persisting for many, particularly in northern areas, but becoming drier in more southern parts later.

“Moving into May, we may see a spell of more settled weather developing, with predominantly dry conditions across the UK.”

The cold and dry weather in the UK earlier in the year has caused a blossom bloom, according to the National Trust.

The organisation is starting its first ever “Blossom Week”, a seven-day long celebration of the flowers.

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It comes after a series of cold snaps and a dry February, meaning blossom was slightly delayed this year.

England experienced its driest February in 30 years, the Met Office said, with the UK as a whole seeing less than half the average rainfall for the month, at 45%, with 43.4mm falling.

Andy Jasper, of the National Trust, said: “We are at the epicentre of a truly magnificent show of blossom.”

He is encouraging people to get out to see the beautiful colours and observe nature.

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