If you are travelling on Thursday for the Easter weekend, the day will be fine for most. Rain will set in for Northern Ireland and western Scotland with freshening winds for the Irish Sea and west coast of Scotland. Nothing too impactful to begin the Easter weekend but there are warnings later on Saturday.
Before the Easter weekend brings some windy weather, there has been mild air over the UK midweek, accompanied by a lot of cloud. Temperatures in eastern Britain have reached 14 to 16C on Wednesday, and out of the breeze, it felt rather pleasant.
Netweather Radar and satellite showing a good deal of cloud on Wednesday 1st but sunshine for parts of northern England.
However, there is a change happening in the far north; a cold front bringing rain down through Northern Ireland and Scotland on Wednesday. This will reach northwest England and Wales this evening. When that cold air arrives, you will notice the difference. The weather in northern Scotland is already turning wintry.
Cold front precipitation turning wintry over Scotland on Wednesday afternoon
The frontal rain will become patchy as it moves southwards, followed by colder air and clearing skies. There will be a widespread frost in the north with a sunny and calm, but chilly, start on Thursday.
There will be a cold north wind clipping East Anglia and Kent first thing, perhaps with the odd lingering shower. Much of Britain will see a fine day, but rain from the Atlantic will reach Northern Ireland and the west coast of Scotland through the afternoon.
An incoming weather system is now moving more quickly and will bring wind and rain across the UK on Thursday night. It means there will be more bright or sunny spells appearing on Good Friday. At first, England and Wales will be blustery with a fair amount of cloud and outbreaks of rain. Depending on any breaks in the cloud, temperatures in southern Britain will be around 12 to 17C with a moderate to fresh SW wind. A cold front will edge southwards during the day, followed by clearer (sunny) skies.
Along this front, there will be sharp downpours with gusty winds. To the north, there will be sunshine and showers in a moderate westerly wind. Temperatures will be lower 8 to 14 C, but the air will feel colder through the afternoon, especially in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The showers over the hills and mountains fo Scotland will be wintry at times, and there will be snow settling for the NW Highlands and Grampians. So quite a contrast later on Friday, a blustery day but mild in the south and chilly in the far north.
After a lull on Friday night, Saturday will become windy and the Met Office has issued weather warnings in the north for Saturday evening, overnight into Sunday morning.
A look back at March 2026
There has been plenty of sunshine in March and it has been warmer than average.
“According to provisional Met Office statistics, the UK experienced its joint tenth warmest March in a series dating back to 1884.”
March 2026 ties with March 2025 as the joint tenth warmest on record. Wales saw its joint fourth warmest March and England its joint sixth warmest March.
Northwestern Britain was wetter than average over the month, whereas eastern and southern Britain were drier than average. Northern England saw rainfall 14% above average and southern England saw 37% below. Northern Ireland and Wales saw less rainfall than average. Scotland was wetter than average overall but varied regionally west to east. Looking back at the wet winter, there is quite a contrast between where is now dry, compared to the past few months of wet weather. Almost like a mirror image.
The UK and all four nations recorded above-average sunshine for March. Eastern Scotland had a particularly sunny month with a welcome change after the winter months.
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