Paralympic torchbearers are in for a rainy relay - but thousands of spectators attending the opening ceremony of the Games will be able to leave their umbrellas at home, forecasters said.
Wet weather is due to sweep across much of the UK on Wednesday, with the worst of the rain falling from 9am until the early afternoon, when the flame will be making its way through London and towards the Olympic Stadium.
While temperatures will struggle to get above 15C during the evening, the rain clouds will have disappeared by 8.30pm, when the Games officially get under way.
Wet weather is due to sweep across much of the UK on Wednesday
Helen Rossington, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "There will be rain and showers throughout the day but it should be dry by the time the ceremony starts.
"It might be chilly though compared to how it was for the Olympics opening ceremony and there will be a brisk south-westerly wind. But it won't be raining, which is the important thing. There is only a very slight chance of a shower."
Speaking of the torchbearers, she added: "Some of them will definitely get wet. There could be quite heavy rain throughout the morning, with the whole of the UK being unsettled."
The band of rain will travel east, bringing showers behind it, with the most persistent downpours happening in the morning.
During the day, temperatures will reach a high of 20C in the south of England as the torch relay takes place, with some sunshine between the showers.