The weekend is looking dry and settled but not always sunny. It will still be chilly at night, and warm in any sunshine by day. It is the London Marathon this weekend, with plenty of interest in Sunday’s forecast for participants and spectators.
High pressure will be over the UK for the end of this week, which means that the winds will be mostly light but the easterly wind off the North Sea has been cool all week. Often under high pressure, there are areas of cloud that wander about, drifting into eastern Britain overnight, and at this time of year, there is still the risk of patchy frost and even fog.
There has been a large low pressure lurking away to the southwest, which has tried to throw high cloud and the odd shower towards Cornwall and Ireland. It fails and slinks off over the north Atlantic, trailing some medium/high cloud over Wales and Ireland on Saturday morning. A different low pressure will nip from the Norwegian Sea across Scandinavia, and behind that, a colder northerly flow will run down towards Shetland but aim for southern Norway and Denmark by Saturday. The UK will manage to stay under the influence of high pressure between this low to the west and also a plunge of cold air to the east but northeastern Britain will feel colder at the weekend.
It will be worth looking up for the next few nights as it is the Lyrid Meteor shower and there will be clear spells.
Friday
Friday looks sunny and warm. There will be warmer air from the south, lighter winds and hours of sunshine warming the slowly descending air under the high pressure. Again, there will be some patchy cloud about first thing but it will fade. Scotland and Northern Ireland could reach 19C inland. 17 to 20C for England and Wales perhaps even up to 21C for the West Country.
For the east coast of Britain, the air will remain cool, only 11 to 15C. Direct sunshine will feel warm, but in the shade and after dark, it will be chilly.
Saturday
Remember the low pressure heading over Scandinavia, which will throw more cloud over the Northern Isles with showery rain for Shetland during Friday night. By Saturday morning, there will be low cloud around the Forth Valley, over the eastern counties of Scotland and another patch for East Anglia. To the west, the other low pressure will throw some cloud over southwest England, Wales and Northern Ireland early on Saturday but this will fade as the low moves away westwards. Showery rain from this low looks to be confined to southwestern counties of Ireland. Elsewhere, it starts fine and sunny and will soon warm up, after a cool start.
Increased risk of fire spreading
This ongoing dry weather combined with a blustery wind, means that there is a higher risk of wildfire spread.
“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has issued wildfire warnings for the coming weekend. Western Scotland: From Friday, 24 April to Sunday, 26 April, the warning will increase to an extreme risk of wildfire. Central and Eastern Scotland: from Friday, 24 April to Sunday, 26 April, there will be a very high risk of wildfire.”
People should avoid lighting outdoor fires and be mindful that one spark can spread causing a large amount of damage. There is a seasonal fire ban in Cairngorm National Park now. Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue issued an Amber Wildfire Alert earlier this week - “should a wildfire be experienced, it could spread quickly and easily due to the dry conditions.”
Sunday
Sunday is the day of the London Marathon, 26.2 miles from SE London, east to Woolwich, west to Rotherhithe, across the Thames, east to Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs and then west past the City of London along the Embankment to The Mall.
It will feel cool early on, only around 7 to 10C. The top temperature looks to be around 16C by lunchtime and 18C by late afternoon, so not a hot, humid day in London, thankfully. However, the sun at this time of year is strong, so don’t forget your sunscreen. The breeze should be light from the east, so no battling into the wind this year and a tiny bit of help for the later stages of the event. Gently assisting runners on their way westwards on a dry day.
Elsewhere for Sunday, it will be a little bit mixed but generally a fair day. It should be dry and bright for most with some patchy cloud. The low pressure over the Atlantic might manage to throw a band of thicker cloud over the far northwest of the UK. This might bring a little patchy rain, more cloud to the Scottish Islands, perhaps even a few outbreaks to northern mainland Scotland, as the rest of the UK stays dry. The winds could veer to a southerly for a time before they fall calm to end the weekend.
The far north and also eastern counties of Britain will still feel a bit cool, whereas inland and to the south and west temperatures could still reach 17 to 22C.
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