Heavy thundery showers will keep us on our toes for the last few days of March. Low pressure will move across southern Britain on Thursday night with gales through the English Channel into Friday.
As people begin to break up for Easter Holidays, it looks wild on Friday through the English Channel. For the middle of the week, Atlantic low pressures continue to bring bands of rain across the UK with blustery winds, heavy even thundery showers and a good deal of cloud. The flow of air is mild and if you manage to escap the wind and rain, temperatures in the mid-teens will feel very mild. However today there is a band of hefty downpours working its way in from the west followed by more discrete shower cells. These include the risk of thunderstorms. The main threat is over Ireland and Northern Ireland with the risk of severe weather in the west. Heavy showery rain will also arrive over SW Britain this evening.
Another bout of heavy rain will arrive on Thursday evening for Cornwall and Devon. This then spills over southern Britain on Thursday night around a deepening low pressure. The strongest winds, high gusts and gales will be around the southern side of this low which looks to affect the Channel Islands and northern France into Friday morning. There could be disruption to ferry services as the Easter Holidays begin. Strong winds will clip Cornwall and Devon, perhaps more of the West Country, even Hampshire and the Isle of Wight during Friday day.
The southerly winds will freshen through the Irish Sea, for west coast Britain and Northern Ireland today. An occluding cold front will move from Ireland across to Wales and western Scotland by lunchtime with heavy bursts of rain. Behind this with brighter skies, temperatures will rise to 15C in Northern Ireland but the showers will develop.
“scattered heavy showers and some thunderstorms across the island of Ireland…with a risk of strong convective wind gusts (50-60 mph) possible towards the west coast of Ireland. Also hail and CG lighting may accompany storms.” Convective forecast
The Wednesday evening pulse of showery rain will extend from SW England through Wales, over southern England and the Midlands towards The Wash during the night.
“there is a risk of embedded thunderstorms in this heavy …Heavy showers following across southern and western areas of England and Wales may also produce hail and locally thunder in the early hours”
Meanwhile, the occluding front moves across the Northern Isles with a spell of wet and windy weather overnight.
The winds ease but then veer over Wales and England. There will be bright or sunny spells and it will feel warmer. There will be a scattering of showers with some heavy downpours still with the risk of hail and thunder. By teatime the first of the heavy rain should be reaching Cornwall.
The low will be just beginning to fill as it reaches the British Isles and the worst of the winds will be through the Channel and over northern France. There will be heavy rain at times for Wales and southern England and bands of rain reaching further north through England. Brittany already has yellow wind warnings from Meteo France and Normandy looks to be very wet by Friday. Jersey Met “Southwest strong F6 to 7, occasionally gale F8.” for Friday.
Southerly near Gale forecast for Jersey on Friday.
It does look like a wild end to the week for the Channel Islands but strong winds could impact the south coast of England or more of SW England. The southerly winds will veer to westerly gales by dawn on Friday. The low begins to slow down, with a trailing occluded front throwing rain over Northern Ireland and SW England also Wales with blustery winds. A rash of heavy showers will affect western Scotland and southern Britain as the strong westerly winds or gales continue through the Channel.
The strong winds continue in the eastern Channel through Friday, but should ease down during Friday night if you are leaving from Dover, Newhaven or Portsmouth.