Weather data takes spring from the 1st March, but the weather outside seems to still be in winter. Happy St David's Day and pinch punch, it's nippy out there.
Is it the first day of spring? Yes, but only meteorologically, and I'm not sure the weather realises just yet.
Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus! It's also St. David's Day.
Still wintry
It's feeling chilly this morning, with frost and ice away from southern Britain. There are still a few wintry showers over Scotland, snow showers coming into the far north of the mainland and a speckling over SW Scotland, just into Cumbria. Much of yesterday's snow disappeared quite quickly mixing with rain. This was the last day of February on the Powys/Shropshire border thanks to Dickie D on our Facebook page.
There is now a frontal band of rain approaching the UK from the SW, which has to come up against the cold air. This looks like it could bring some sleet/hill snow over Northern Ireland, Wales and northern England by tonight. Still signs of winter through today and tonight.
Today
Wales will have a rather cloudy morning but still bright. There are still one or two blustery showers over Snowdonia and Anglesey, these fade. A moderate westerly wind will make it feel cool with temperatures around 7 to 8. Newport could reach 10C with a bit of shelter. By lunchtime, rain will be moving over the Bristol Channel into south Wales. It turns damp over southern and western Wales through the afternoon with more cloud elsewhere. This is then the occluding front and the rain peps up, with heavier bursts pushing across western and northern Wales with a more wintry mix. The winds begin to strengthen and it becomes a quite night.
Northern Ireland should have a fine day. Winds will be light and temperatures will reach 7 or 8C. There maybe one or two sharp showers running across northern counties but for most a bright day. The frontal rain looks set to arrive over Co. Fermanagh late afternoon and will spread over Northern Ireland during the evening with sleet, even hill snow mixed in. Westerly winds will freshen further south over Ireland.
Much of Scotland has a cold, frosty, calm start with ice and just a few wintry showers. There will be sunny spells but there is a low pressure north of Shetland bringing strengthening winds and more cloud with rain to the northern Isles, even brushing Thurso and Wick. The Central Belt has a fair day with cloud increasing in the afternoon 5 to 7C, lines of showers well to the north and over the Southern Uplands. Another chilly evening with frost, windy in the far north.
There will be a lot of fair weather over England today, with bright spells but increasing cloud in the south. It is a nippy start for central and northern parts with light winds. These become moderate for eastern and southern England this morning as temperatures reach 7 or 8C in the north but a milder 10 or 11 along the M4 corridor and around London. The band of rain continues to spread over the West Country this morning, reaching more of southern England through the afternoon. Northern England will see a few showers, coming in from the Irish Sea, hitting the Pennines where there could be a bit of hill snow. For most of England it will be dry but with more cloud and the rain in the south will be rather light and patchy through the afternoon. We begin to see some heavier bursts of rain over SW Britain by the evening as the rain band nudges northwards and the westerly winds begin to strengthen. It will be windy along the English Channel tonight and through the Western Channel and Irish Sea, with gales, even severe gales.
Thursday
Again, it could be parts of northern England, north Wales, the far north of Scotland and maybe for Northern Ireland where there is that
“It’s snowed!”
moment when you open the curtains, on Thursday morning. The hills, as always, are more likely. Will it Snow?
The weakening occluded front will wander about over Northern Ireland and northern England, into Wales through Thursday morning, giving light rain/sleet and hill snow. Not much by then. It will be a windy start for southern Britain with strong and gusty W/SW winds. Northern Britain could again see ice issues. It will be a windy day with another pulse of wet weather heading in from the Atlantic, with the potential to bring a bit more wintry weather to the hills of NW England or Northern Ireland.
Friday
The winds ease off for Friday morning. Another low pressure looks like it will move close to SW Britain during Friday bringing more rain, so the unsettled theme continues. It should bring milder air into the south though.
Is this?
“In like a lion, out like a lamb.”
Might sound like that tonight as the winds blow.