We keep a chilly northerly flow going through much of the coming week, especially noticeable in the east. Cloud and rain spreading south Monday, but after that, most places largely dry until later in the week, when it looks to turn more showery.
We saw some warmth earlier in the month, thanks to warm air moving up from Africa, culminating in 21.8C being reached on 13th at Writtle near Chelmsford, Essex – the warmest day of the year so far. However, it’s turned colder during the second half of this month, with northerly or northwesterly winds bringing cool days and some chilly nights. But it has, at least, turned drier as a result, despite some showers earlier this past week. Some places in northern England and southern Scotland have provisionally recorded their wettest April on record well before the end of the month.
5 day 2m temp anomaly: staying on the cool side, with temperatures generally below average here and much of Europe, through the coming working week
The coming working week will see a continuation of winds from a northerly quadrant, between high pressure to the west and low pressure to the east. So it will remain on the cool side for late April, but apart from some light rain moving south on Monday, it will remain largely dry for many. Brightest and warmest conditions will be towards the west – closest to high pressure, cloudier conditions with occasional showers towards the east along with a brisk breeze at times. Changes afoot by the end of the week and into next weekend though, as we lose high pressure to the west and instead see low pressure move in off the Atlantic bringing wetter, windier but less cool conditions.
A pattern change by the end of the week and into the weekend, as high pressure close by declines and low pressure moves into the southwest
For now, another chilly start after a cold night for many, temperatures fell into low single figures quite widely in the night, a few rural spots around freezing under clear skies. Although high pressure will be centred across the north today, a warm front trapped in the high is bringing cloud and rain across Scotland this morning which will linger for much of the day away from far west while slowly extending south across NW England and perhaps north Wales too. But elsewhere, after a chilly and sunny start, it will turn cloudier across the rest of northern England, Wales and the Midlands. Southern England and East Anglia hanging on to the best of the sunshine, but it will be windy towards eastern England. Dry and bright or sunny too across N. Ireland, where across the west it could reach 18C, for rest of the UK a cooler 12-14C, colder along North Sea coasts in the northerly wind – with temperatures pegged back to 9-11C.
On Monday, high pressure retreats to the west, allowing weather fronts to slip down across the UK from the north, which will bring a cloudier day for many, with patchy outbreaks of mainly light rain slipping south, though the odd moderate burst possible over central areas. SE England and N. Ireland may stay dry all day, while brighter and drier conditions move down across northern and central Scotland. Temperatures only reaching 11-13C under cloudy skies, but where the sun comes it the far northwest it could reach 14-16C.
A northerly breeze for Tuesday, following cold front clearing south Monday night, bringing sunnier skies than Monday, though there will be more in the way of cloud and a strong wind towards the east coast of Britain, with some scattered showers possible here. Dry, warmer and with the best of the sunshine towards the west close to high pressure. Temperatures reaching 9-12C in the east, 13-14C in the west.
Not a great deal of change on Wednesday, still that nagging chilly northerly wind, most noticeable in the east – where there will be more in the way of cloud and some scattered showers, which could move further inland across the Midlands and southern England at times. Best of the sunshine and warmer temperatures across the far west.
Pressure looks to fall across the UK on Thursday, so we could see showers develop more widely across Britain, perhaps merging into more organised rain and even hill snow across Scotland, with cold air here. Some sunny spells between showers. Temperatures reaching 9-13C.
Friday looks to see further slow-moving areas of showers in places, as low pressure moves in to the southwest, though some uncertainty how quickly this occurs, some sunny spells between the showers and not everywhere will see showers.
Low pressure moving by next weekend will turn the weather more unsettled
Then for next weekend, models generally agree on a deepening low pressure system to the southwest of Britain to start Saturday, though disagreement thereafter on where the low tracks and how much the low deepens. But despite this uncertainty, the general theme looks to be turning windier and increasingly unsettled, with heavy showers or longer spells of rain, perhaps thundery, spreading north across most areas. But it does look to become a little warmer, more especially towards the east, especially noticeable in any sunshine and out of the wind.
