Cold, bright and showery weekend, but wet Monday

It's a cloudy and drizzly start to the day for most of us, although brighter, showery weather has already pushed into the northern half of Scotland. During the rest of today the brighter showery weather will slowly push southwards, reaching most of northern England and Ireland by early afternoon, and extending into the Midlands by evening. In the brighter weather there will be a cold crisp feel and showers will be well-scattered, although they will turn wintry across Scotland above about 200m. Southern England and south Wales, however, will remain dull all day.

Under the cloud blanket it will not be a warm day anywhere- we can expect maximum temperatures of 8 to 10C in the brighter weather in the north, and 10 to 12C under cloudy skies in the south. Tonight, temperatures will hold up in southern England where rain and cloud will be slow to clear, but from the Midlands northwards, a frost is likely away from east and north-facing coasts, with the temperature getting down to between 0 and -3C (gardeners beware, take care of those crops!). A scattering of showers will affect coastal areas of eastern Scotland and north-east England, where they will fall as sleet and snow at relatively low levels (above about 100-150m).

Saturday will be a much brighter day for us, with a scattering of showers, and northerly winds easing right off. Some of the showers will be wintry even at low levels across Scotland and north-east England, with snow on high ground from the Midlands northwards, but they will generally be light and well-scattered. With only light winds it may not feel all that cold out in the sunshine, but it will certainly feel cool in the shade, with maximum temperatures of 8 to 10C across much of Scotland and north-east England, and 10 to 13C in other areas. Frost will be rather more widespread in the south on Saturday night, again something for gardeners and farmers to really take note of.

Sunday will be another cold, bright day with only light winds and a scattering of showers, although some heavier showers, with widespread hail, are expected to develop across northern England during the afternoon. It will be slightly less cold during the daytime, with maximum temperatures generally between 10 and 14C.

Into next week, it looks like the wet weather is going to return. Bank Holiday Monday will dawn dry and sunny in most northern and eastern areas but a belt of persistent rain will push up from the south-west during the day, and this will set the scene for a rather wet week ahead. Thus, there is certainly a chance of the April monsoon returning, at least for a week or so.


Published on 4th May 2012 10:55 Updated: 4th May 2012 10:55