Most of Britain drought-free after heavy rain but will there be more?

York city centre after the River Ouse burst its banks again after heavy rainfall. PA

After weeks of torrential rain the drought is officially over for most of Britain with the Environment Agency declaring 19 counties in the South West, Midlands and Yorkshire drought-free but the hosepipe ban remains in the South East and the question on everyone's lips is will there be more rain?

There's good news as the Met Office is finally predicting a brighter weekend for Britons and temperatures could reach 16C.

The forecast for Saturday on its website read: 'A much brighter day generally, with a good deal of sunshine. Probably somewhat cloudier at times in the afternoon, though. Light winds.'

MeteoGroup forecaster Brendan Jones told the Daily Mail: 'We should see a bit of a break from the heavy rain over the weekend.

'Today will see more of the same for parts of Scotland and northern England, with some hill snow in northern Scotland,' he said.

'From Manchester southwards, there may be one or two showers but a lot of the day will be mainly dry. Some sunshine will come through which will be welcomed.

'Temperatures will range from 12 to 15 degrees, which isn't brilliant for May but better than it has been. By Sunday, most of England and Wales should see some pretty good weather.'

The sunshine will be welcomed across the UK, which has seen heavy flooding with the River Ouse bursting its banks again and eels invading a football pitch in North Wales.

In April there was 4.8in of rain, which is the highest level on records that date back to 1910. The Environment Agency says many reservoirs and rivers have been restored after the heavy rainfall of recent weeks.

The areas no longer in drought include Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, South Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, parts of Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Bristol, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Herefordshire. Staffordshire, West Midlands, Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Warwickshire are also drought-free.

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