The start of the August bank holiday weekend brought torrential downpours and below average temperatures across the UK.

There were outbreaks of heavy rain across central and southern regions, where up to 70mm was forecast, with a yellow weather warning in place for much of the south-east until Saturday lunchtime.

The Met Office said there will be further blustery showers on Saturday night, particularly in the north and west, with temperatures of about 15C in London and 14C in Manchester.

On Sunday, conditions are expected to ease although some showers are forecast in the east, northern England and southern Scotland.

Winds will pick up and it will be blustery for much of the UK but not on the scale of Friday morning when Storm Lilian began, the Met Office said.

Dan Holley, the deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Beyond Saturday, many southern and eastern areas will be largely fine and dry through the remainder of the long weekend, with temperatures initially below average but recovering a little by Monday.

“However, it will remain cooler with more cloud and occasional rain or showers in more north-western areas, with some heavy rain likely on Sunday in parts of Northern Ireland, south-west Scotland, north-west England and North Wales. This may also be accompanied by some fairly brisk winds at times.”

The yellow warning for rain was made at the start of what could be the busiest August bank holiday on the roads ever recorded.

The RAC estimates 19.2m leisure trips by car will be made over the weekend. This is the highest since the motoring services company began collecting data for the summer bank holiday in 2015.

Earlier, National Rail said “severe weather” had blocked lines between Beverley and Scarborough, causing trains to be “cancelled, revised or delayed by up to 30 minutes”. A landslip between Honiton and Axminster had also blocked lines, triggering a notice to passengers of potential disruption as “trains may be cancelled or revised”.

Wet weather overnight caused delays to the opening day of racing at the Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man, while the third day of the Vitality County Championship cricket match between Middlesex and Northamptonshire was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

But Monday is forecast to have the best of the weather. Liam Eslick, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “There will be more in the way of some sunshine and winds are expected to ease. It will be a lot calmer coming into the bank holiday Monday and it will be nice to have that extra day this weekend to enjoy.”