UK weather forecast – Heavy rain to SOAK London Marathon runners and spectators as 11C cold snap sweeps in

LONDON marathon runners can expect a soaking with heavy downpours forecast throughout Sunday.

The capital is set for a spell of wet weather as athletes from around the world descend on the capital to race.

It's set to be a mostly cloudy day with outbreaks of rain, with showers pulling away to the south through the early afternoon.

Temperatures will start at a chillier 11C at around dawn before rising for the race start - peaking at around 17C during mid-afternoon.

It will turn drier later in the afternoon as a high pressure builds.

Runners have been told that any wind is set "to be light and variable," according to Met Office meteorologist Steven Keate.

But he warns spectators may want to invest in a brolly "as the weather may not be the best when standing around."

Talking about the conditions, a Met Office spokesman said: “The current thinking is that through the morning there’ll be rain encroaching from the south-west, over to the London area.

“It will be cloudy, with rain never too far away.”

Meanwhile, heavy rain is set to soak the majority of southern counties of England - apart from a select few in the east.

It comes after weather warnings were rolled out across Britain on Friday as 75mph gales and torrential rain battered the country.

Almost two inches of rain fell in just a couple of hours alongside some of the strongest winds seen this year.

On Monday, variable amounts of cloud cover will build as outbreaks of rain will spread into Scotland and Northern Ireland during the afternoon and evening.

It is set to be overcast on Tuesday with cloudy skies as outbreaks of rain across northern Britain slowly sink south-eastwards.